MEB AGM looks to the future

Having been postponed due to covid-19, the Annual General Meeting of the Monaco Economic Board (MEB) finally took place on 20 October at the Yacht Club de Monaco. It was an opportunity to take stock, but above all look to a future of actively participating in the Principality’s economic recovery. 

“During the 2008 crisis, Monaco proved its resilience (…) Building on previous experience, our institutions, the Government and National Council together are proving to be exceptionally responsive to today’s situation,” began an optimistic MEB Chairman Michel Dotta, as he welcomed MEB members to the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Guillaume Rose, Executive Director General, then took the floor to report back on a packed agenda in 2019.

More than 60 operations were carried out at home and abroad including Trade Missions, hosting delegations, targeted promotional and prospecting operations, conferences, training courses and even workshops with member companies.  Abroad, many of these activities were coordinated with public and private entities who have a role in promoting Monaco on an international level in the scientific, cultural and sporting domains. 

Although initially the 2020 AGM was set to run on a similar vein, the covid-19 pandemic put paid to part of that agenda. However, MEB has been quick to embrace digital alternatives in organising a series of sector-specific MEBinaires* (webinars) to help companies in Monaco assess the situation in their field. Talks by leading economists like Jean-Pierre Petit and Ludovic Subran, who would normally have come to the Principality, were organised remotely to accommodate as many attendees as possible.  

But MEB is taking it another step further with an E-Trade Mission being organised from 11-13 November in collaboration with the Chambers of Commerce of four major cities in Russia (Moscow, St Petersburg, Rostov and Novossibirsk) to give business leaders in Monaco an opportunity to talk to targeted companies via videoconferences with simultaneous translation. It has also run several surveys to help the Monaco Government analyse feedback on how companies are faring in the crisis and also on teleworking. 

Lastly, the team has been busy preparing for the future by organising numerous meetings and making contacts with partners to put in place actions for 2021. Guillaume Rose confirmed that  MEB would start organising business trips as soon as possible and would be actively engaged in contributing to companies’ digital transformation in support of Frédéric Genta, Country Chief Digital Officer, and his teams.

Jean Castillini, Minister of Finance and Economy, ended the AGM with a speech in which he  praised MEB’s actions and recalled the main principles of the Government’s recovery plan, concluding: “Here’s to a swift return to the world of tomorrow, an open world, while at the same time questioning the economic model we must adapt and transform” to meet the challenge.

Contacts: Benoît Ulrich / Delphine Quilichini - presse@meb.mc

Photo caption (Credits: MEB / Carte Blanche) from l-r: Michel Dotta, Chairman Monaco Economic Board; Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy; Balthazar Seydoux, President of the National Council Commission for Finance and the Economy; Guillaume Rose, Executive Director General of Monaco Economic Board.