Trade Mission to Vienna : successes on various fronts

Seizing the opportunity of a recital by Cecilia Bartoli at Vienna’s legendary Musikverein, the Monaco Economic Board (MEB) arranged a Trade Mission to Austria, 13-15 May. The delegation comprised 18 entrepreneurs representing 13 companies in what proved to be a very successful trip.

Organised under the aegis of Monaco’s Ambassador to Austria, H.E. Mrs Isabelle Berro-Amadei, with the invaluable support of Monaco’s Consul in Vienna, Christian Dorda, and in partnership with the Austrian  Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) the trip started in the Musikverein, a temple of classical music. Cécilia Bartoli and the Baroque Ensemble of the Prince of Monaco Musicians received a rapturous reception from the discerning Viennese audience. The evening ended in style with a reception at the Monaco Embassy. Difficult to imagine a better start to this mission where the Principality’s excellence shone through opera.

Next day it was down to business at a forum, with opening speeches by MEB CEO, Guillaume Rose, and Diego Bonaventura, Director of the Monaco Chamber of Commerce , who presented the Principality’s key, often not-so-well-known advantages as a business destination. Christophe Bennier, exploiting his Austrian-Monegasque culture and as a member of the Monaco Business Étranger network, completed the picture by focusing on best practices for doing business with the Principality.

A partnership agreement was signed between the two chambers of commerce to establish a basis for long-term cooperation. It started immediately afterwards with a BtoB session in which 130 people took part in the first step to building economic bridges between the two countries. The Monegasque delegation secured no less than 300 contacts, some of which will be followed up by the Monaco Office in Munich, responsible for German-speaking countries, who were in Vienna for the occasion.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited several sites that resonate with major projects in the Principality: the A1 StartUp Campus of A1 Telekom Austria (incubator-accelerator), Urban Innovation Vienna (Smart City with priority for quality of life and social life) and the Wien Energy showroom (energy transition).

That evening, at a dinner in the iconic Sacher Hotel, attended by H.E. Mrs Isabelle Berro-Amadeï and several Viennese captains of industry, the Monegasque entrepreneurs were able to continue networking in this very privileged environment.

Deemed by all to have been a very successful trade mission, the two chambers of commerce look set to ramp up exchanges, starting with a possible visit by an Austrian delegation to the Principality in 2020.