Speaking about his new mandate as the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Frieden explained that his previous experience as both a politician and lawyer would help guide him as the chamber's president. He also specified that, despite his political background, he would ensure that the chamber would remain politically impartial.
Frieden drew on his experience having been on both sides due to his extensive background and maintained he knows how to compromise.
Looking ahead, he designated the chamber's three principal tasks as digitalisation, continuous training, and ensuring trade freedom in the European inner market. Frieden highlighted that the last point is especially critical for Luxembourg, which imports and exports a great quantity of goods.
As well as being the Chamber of Commerce's president, Frieden is also the chairman of the BIL (Banque Internationale de Luxembourg) board of directors. Recently, the bank's majority ownership was taken over by Chinese shareholders. Despite this, Frieden maintained that the bank is and will remain a Luxembourgish bank.
He explained that the Chinese ownership is not necessarily decisive and instead described the partnership as a "win-win" situation.
BIL annual figures: 2018 yielded a net profit of €131 million for Luxembourg's oldest private bank
