The invitation was made during the Sovereign Prince’s visit to Germany in June 2012: in this way more than thirty German business people came to Monaco with the goal of meeting Monegasque economic actors. This Federal Association groups together close to 150,000 members throughout Germany at present (companies and single business people).
A busy schedule
Welcomed by HRH Prince Albert II at the Hermitage Hotel, these visitors from the economic world then had a series of meetings and saw Monaco introduce itself in the broad sense. Their contacts were: Mr. Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy, HE Henri Fissore, Ambassador assigned to the Minister of State, in charge of attractiveness, Mr. Bernard Rousselot, President of the Monaco Financial Sector Promotion Commission of the Monegasque Financial Activities Association, Mr. Michel Dotta, President of the Chamber of Economic Development, and Mr. Guillaume Rose, Director of Tourism and Conventions. “We know the different European financial centres well,” assured Mr. Mario Ohoven, BVMW President. “We like the Monaco model because it is based on the same criteria as a sound and successful business. It is clear that it is interesting for working business people to get to know this model in order to consider possible cooperation projects or investments.” Without waiting for the outcome of the upcoming German elections, Mr. Mario Ohoven believes that economic Germany sees the Principality of Monaco as a credible ally.
The Federal Association of German SMEs in a nutshell
To date, the BVMW relies on some 220 regional offices in Germany and around 30 in the rest of the world. Its members organise close to 2,000 events a year and have over 600,000 professional contacts a day. The 3.3 million German SMEs provide 70% of jobs and thus represent the foundation of the German economy. The management committee is based in Berlin.
