PH Ambassador Receives Spain-ASEAN Business Association Officials

Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier (third from left) with the officers of Spain-ASEAN Business Association (ASEMPEA). (From left) Third Secretary Mikhal de Dios, ASEMPEA Secretary General Antonio Viñal, Ambassador Lhuillier, ASEMPEA President Tomás González, Mr. Felipe Canet, and Mr. Javier Valero Marín. (Madrid PE photo)

MADRID 14 March 2019 – Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier received the President and officers of the Spain-ASEAN Business Association (ASEMPEA or Asociación Empresarial España-ASEAN) at the Philippine Embassy in Madrid on 05 March 2019.

Ambassador Lhuillier met with ASEMPEA President Tomás González, ASEMPEA Secretary-General Atty. Antonio Viñal, Centunion Director General Felipe Canet, and Globaltec Development and Engineering Director Javier Valero Marín.

Organized only in November 2018, ASEMPEA already announced that they are now formally starting their operations.

Mr. González informed Ambassador Lhuillier that they were organizing at least five events for their members and the public within the next two months.

Among ASEMPEA’s main objectives is to act as a lobby group in Spain, advocating for business interests and relaying concerns about on the ease of doing business to concerned governments. Mr. González also said they would like to work toward mutual recognition of Spanish engineers in ASEAN member countries.

For his part, Ambassador Lhuillier welcomed this news and stated that the Embassy is ready to work closely with ASEMPEA to boost mutual trade and investment ties while noting that there are already significant Philippine investments in the Spanish market.

The Ambassador stressed that Europe as a whole, and Spain in particular, should exert more effort to enter the booming Southeast Asian market and show its seriousness of intent with concrete proposals.

The ASEMPEA officials agreed, and noted that Mr. González, Mr. Marín, and Mr. Canet are scheduled to visit Manila individually within the next two months for their own private business interests.

Mr. González said that apart from being a business networking organizer, ASEMPEA also sees itself as the main reference point for Spanish companies seeking to do business in Southeast Asia. As such, they are planning to offer seminars on business culture in ASEAN, and the legal and regulatory environment in each member state.

ASEMPEA expects to organize private sector exchange visits between Spain and ASEAN. The group also offered to act as a point of contact between ASEAN governments and the Spanish government for the purpose of pushing issues of mutual interest for the private sector.

After the private meeting at the Embassy, Ambassador Lhuillier and ASEMPEA officials joined the four other resident ASEAN Ambassadors in Madrid from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam for a lunch hosted by the ASEAN Committee in Madrid (ACM).

During the meeting, the ACM welcomed ASEMPEA’s initiatives and expressed confidence in the success of the organization. Both sides committed to work together to enhance trade and investment ties between Spain and ASEAN. END

(From left) Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier, Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Tien Dzung, Indonesian Ambassador Hermono, ASEMPEA President Tomás González, Malaysian Ambassador Zainal Abidin bin Bakar, and Mr. Felipe Canet. (Madrid PE photo)

For more information, visit www.madripe.dfa.gov.ph, www.philembassymadrid.com or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSpain/.