Le mot du Président
Bruno Gutton - President – Victoria Chapter
Dear FACCI Members, Chers amis,
2009 marks the 110th anniversary of the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FACCI), it is worth noting that not only has the presence of French businesses grown enormously during this period but French-Australian trade relations have also evolved to reflect the diversification of French commercial and industrial interests in Australia.
In celebrating this historic landmark, I would like to reiterate the underlying principle that FACCI has had since its foundation in 1899 - to serve and promote the interests of French and French-Australian businesses.
Indeed, France has been closely associated with Australia since the first days of Australian wool exports to supply the textile industry in the north of France in the late nineteenth century. Since then, there are many other roles that we have taken on and continue to carry out in an increasingly globalised world. With its longstanding bilateral vocation, FACCI serves as a discussion forum for our members and all those interested in further developing the commercial relationship between France and Australia.
Also, as a strong service-oriented organisation we provide our members with invaluable resources to enable them to develop new business relationships and strengthen their engagement within the local French and Australian business communities. Through our trade support services we work in close collaboration with the network of Chambers of Commerce in France to promote the key growth areas of the Australian market to French SMBs and encourage them to seize those export opportunities.
Today a large number of French companies are closely involved in all aspects of the Australian economy through investment, production, manufacturing, exports as well as research & development, thus making a valuable contribution to the prosperity of Australia and its people. In the last decade Australia has enjoyed an uninterrupted period of strong economic expansion and during this time we have also witnessed a steady influx of French companies who have chosen to invest in Australia or have established operations here, often working with local partners. Many have been highly successful in a broad range of sectors as diverse as water treatment and waste management, public transport, shipping, wine production, defence equipment, telecommunications, hospitality, financial services and so on. FACCI is proud of the achievements of its members and celebrates their many recent successes.
However, with economic and financial conditions already tight as the result of the global financial crisis and a tough economic outlook ahead, we are aware that the next few months will bring some challenges to our organisation and will undoubtedly constrain our ambitions and ability to grow. Despite the difficult times ahead, FACCI remains as committed to its founding mission today as all those years ago and will continue to play a vital role in building commercial and strategic collaborations between Australia and France, and attracting the attention of French companies to the world-class infrastructure and leading edge research and development capabilities of Australia.
As President of the Victorian Chapter for the past two years, it has been a privilege to be associated with such a vibrant and dynamic organisation and I would like to thank all our members for their continued support and involvement over the last 109 years, with a particular mention to BNP Paribas and CMA-CGM, as founding members of FACCI in 1899.
I would also like to ackowledge all my fellow Board members, committee members and the FACCI team whose passion and energy not only serves the interests of the French-Australian business community, but is also an investment in a deeper understanding of our two countries.
Tous mes meilleurs voeux pour une très bonne et très belle année 2009.
Bien cordialement,
Bruno Gutton
President |
