Dear EABC Members,

2022 was a pivotal year for our chamber, the year of people getting back to business and networking after pandemic disruption and a stepping stone year for the projects that we will develop in 2023. It was also the year I was elected as EABC president, something that makes me very proud and a position that I am keen to be successful in as we enter a new year.

Over the years, our membership has grown to 132 companies of 20 nationalities. We continue to work closely with governments, authorities, business organisations in Europe and Thailand, European associations and embassies to advocate for regulatory development through our 12 working groups.

The 2022 European Business Position Paper was distributed in more than 300 hard copies to authorities and 4,500 downloaders online. We organised 9 events, 11 meetings with Thai authorities and 60 meetings of our Working Groups. The 2022 joint EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and EABC Business Mission to Thailand was completed, with 12 constructive dialogues with top decision makers from various ministries including the Prime Minister of Thailand. The mission trip highlighted Thailand’s vision for the years ahead and the wide array of opportunities present for European business.

Our priority will be to grow our membership and advocacy. We will continue working to strengthen our members’ business networks through various events, webinars and conferences. EABC will continue to promote an inclusive dialogue on regulatory and economic reform, which will help Thailand to become  a competitive and sustainable economy.

EABC has been preparing for the re-engagement on the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement and will support any efforts to increase trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in the future. The signing of Thai-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) shows the potential of bilateral cooperation. EABC commits to working together in support of EU-Thailand FTA. We welcome our members’ input and participation in the process.

On behalf of the board of EABC, I would like to thank you all for the support that you have provided to our chamber. Our achievement can only be made possible through the generous funding from members and partners. Our strength lies in our ability to work together.

As the General Manager of Roche Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, my commitment to EABC was to make our voice stronger and better in order to improve the trade and investment and ease of doing business in Thailand. We welcome your participation and I look forward to working for and with you in 2023.

 

Farid Bidgoli
President
European Association for Business and Commerce (EABC)