The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (HACCI WA) hosted the inaugural European Australian Chambers’ Dinner in Perth on Saturday evening, bringing together nine European chambers operating in Western Australia in what marks a significant new chapter in European Australian business collaboration.
The key announcement of the evening was that the participating chambers are now moving toward a formal collaboration framework through a proposed European Chamber Alliance for WA — an initiative that would position Perth as the first Australian city to establish a coordinated alliance of European chambers.
Held in celebration of Europe Day, the event attracted more than 200 business, government and community leaders and reflected the growing strategic importance of the Europe Australia relationship at a time of major geopolitical and economic change.
The alliance initiative has emerged through growing cooperation between the Greek, Italian, French, German, Croatian, Spanish, Norwegian, Polish and Swiss chambers operating in WA, with a shared vision of strengthening trade, investment, business connectivity and engagement with government.
HACCI WA President Dr Elena Limnios said the initiative represented an exciting and important moment for WA’s international business future.
“Perth is doing something that no other Australian city has done,” Dr Limnios said. “We are building a proposed European Chamber Alliance — not to replace what each chamber already does so well individually, but to amplify it. To make us greater than the sum of our parts.”
Dr Limnios said the initiative reflected years of relationship building and collaboration between chambers and communities.
“Personally, it is incredibly exciting to see years of relationship building, trust and shared vision evolve into something with the potential to create real long term impact for businesses, communities and international engagement in Western Australia,” she said.
The evening took place just weeks after the conclusion of negotiations on the Australia European Union Free Trade Agreement and the signing of the EU Australia Security and Defence Partnership — developments expected to significantly deepen cooperation between Europe and Australia across trade, defence, critical minerals, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, aviation and technology.
Discussions throughout the evening highlighted the significant opportunities emerging for Western Australian businesses as Europe increasingly looks toward trusted Indo Pacific partners for supply chain resilience, food security, energy transition and strategic industrial capability.
Panel discussions explored growing export opportunities into European markets for sectors including agribusiness, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing, as well as increasing collaboration potential in defence industries, shipping, aviation connectivity and clean energy.
In her address, Dr Limnios described the moment as transformational for Western Australia. “Europe has formally turned its gaze to the Indo Pacific, looking for stable, strategic partners that share the same values, and Western Australia sits at the very centre of that pivot,” she said.
Importantly, Dr Limnios emphasised that the opportunities emerging from stronger Europe Australia ties extend beyond major corporations. “The opportunities opening before us are not size limited,” she said.
“The question is not whether your business is big enough to take advantage of the opportunity. The question is whether you are connected enough to know where to begin. We are here to help create those connections.”
The evening was officially opened by the Hon Tony Buti MLA, Attorney General and Minister for Commerce, and featured a high level panel discussion moderated by Charles Kobelke.
Panel speakers included:
- Joanna Pocztowska, Head of Trade and Economic Affairs, EU Delegation to Australia
- Ben MacNamara, Chief Executive Officer, CBH Group
- Oliver Morton, Executive Vice President Sales & Strategy, Austal
- Trevor Worgan, Chief Operating Officer, QantasLink
