Dear Food & Beverage and Wine & Spirits WG Member,
The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to the next Food & Beverage and Wine &Spirits Working Group Meeting which will be held on Wednesday 26th March from 9am - 10am at the European Chamber Office in Shanghai.
At this meeting we hold the 2008 F&B and W&S Working Group Elections and discuss possible recommendations for the 2008/09 Position Paper.
In order to optimize the pursuit of common interest of both F&B WG and W&S WG, it is suggested to reunite them under one Working Group; namely, F&B and W&S WG, while keeping specific focus where necessary.
As you may know, Working Chair and Vice Chairs play a crucial role in driving the Working Group which includes the drafting of the Position Paper, communicating key messages to the Chinese and European Government, and steering the Working Group meetings. The desired characteristics of a Chair and Vice Chair are a senior industry representative with relevant industry expertise and government contacts that has the time and willingness to support the group. Previous participation in the Working Group is also highly valued.
I am pleased to announce that Mr. Robin SABY (Metro), current acting Chair of F&B, has graciously expressed his willingness to continue in the role of Chair. Mrs.SUN Hong (Hennessy), who is responsible for W&S based in Beijing, has generously volunteered to represent the reunited WG in Beijing as Vice-Chair. However, they along with the Chamber Secretariat encourage any other member that may be interested to also put forth his/her candidature. Anyone who is possibly interested in running for the position of Chair or Vice Chair is therefore kindly requested to inform the Chamber, abwang@euccc.com.cn, by March 24th.
In addition, we will also begin our discussions on the Position Paper for 2008/09. As the Position Paper forms the basis of all our lobbying, members are strongly encouraged to consult widely within their own company in advance so that they can then table such recommendations for discussion at this meeting. Attached for your reference is the Food & Beverage WG Position Paper 2007.
Tentative Agenda
1. European F&B and W&S position in China (vs. other regions & countries)
2. Overview of 2007 WG activities
3. Roundtable Discussion on Current F&B and W&S Developments
4. Visit of European Commissioner Mrs. Mariann FISHER BOEL
5. Position Paper Discussion and Identification of Possible Leads and recommendations.
6. WG Elections 2008
We look forward to welcoming you at this meeting and would appreciate if you could kindly confirm your attendance before 24th March 2008 with Ms.Alice DRIHEM at adrihem@euccc.com.cn
Finally, please note that David MARTIN's successor as Business Manger for the Food & Beverage and Wine & Spirits Working Group is Ms. Adele WANG. We encourage you to add her email to your address books.
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For further information about the Food & Beverage and Wine & Spirits Working Group, or the European Chamber in general, please don't hesitate to contact Ms. Adele B Wang in Shanghai at abwang@euccc.com.cn