Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Norwegian Embassy is seeking to establish a “Team Norway” in Thailand where the efforts of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Chamber, and the Norwegian Trade Council will support each other better.
“As Team Norway, we should all become more visible and accessible and we will stand stronger towards the Thai government regarding improving business conditions and opportunities for Thai-Norwegian businesses. We are also hoping to increase our efficiency in arranging activities and doing media/web and information distribution and creating venues for sharing know-how and networking,” says Nils-Gunnar Hjellegjerde, President of the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce.
The formal start will be a Team Norway seminar planned for October between the Chamber, the Embassy and the Trade Council.
“This seminar will be arranged together between the three organizations and there will be information and presentation from the Chamber, Embassy and NTC related to issues which would be of great interest for Thai-Norwegian business.”
“The main purpose for Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, as defined by the new board, is to be instrumental in creating venues and channels for exchanging and sharing information and to improve business conditions and opportunities for increased trade and investment between Thailand and Norway. If we can join together with the others to achieve our purpose in a better way we are obligated to do so,” says Nils-Gunnar Hjellegjerde.
Among the improvements planned is a re-focus and re-launch of the Chamber magazine, The Pamphlet, in the light of the increasingly importance website of the Chamber, www.norcham.com.
“The “new” Pamphlet – it will have another name and a new graphic profile – is another joint activity. The magazine will continue to be an important channel of information for the members too, but it will be targeted towards a broader audience with more timeless information and information to create understanding, support and interest for Thai-Norwegian business relationship among a broader audience.”
This re-launch will take place beginning of 2003.
“Similarly, the web site www.norcham.or.th will undergo changes and we will look into how the magazine and the web pages could co-exist in a more complementary way. The web site www.norcham.or.th will probably become the most importance source of information for members, potential newcomers to Thailand and others working with Thai-Norwegian relationships. It will keep updated information of latest news from the Chamber as well as interesting links to other sources.”
“The web site shall also become an important place for sharing information and giving feedback to the Chamber and Team Norway,” he adds.
For the time being, the Thai-Norwegian Chamber does not actively seek to coordinate its efforts with Nordmansforbundet and Scandinavian Society Siam, although many Norwegian in Thailand are also members of these organizations.
“A more accidental coordination with these to organizations is probable OK for the time being,” he says.
