It has been my pleasure and privilege to serve as the Chairperson of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Mongolia. The past 12 months have been eventful from a business and foreign investment perspective, with elections, economic forums, mining weeks, international mining events, and numerous chamber activities promoting business relationships, policy advocacy, and the continued development of our member employees. We have heard from the new government that they are open to business investment, with a long list of projects aimed at growing the mining sector and regional development.

I hope our members have been able to take advantage of the chamber's activities throughout the year. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank our members for their continued support and participation in our business "social community." We especially appreciate those members who have added additional value to the chamber by sponsoring our activities this year, making these events possible. This year, we continued to build on the chamber's networking capabilities by adding more development training sessions and an innovation speaker series. The Advocacy Committee has made significant contributions to the review of the Investment Law, Labour Law, Minerals Law, and Tax Law through panel discussions, papers presented to working groups, and face-to-face meetings with key influencers and parliament members. These activities would not have been possible without the dedication of our committee members and chairs, who have worked tirelessly to improve the business environment. I would like to specifically acknowledge Andrew Herod, Andrew Forster, and Bolor Zorigt for their dedication and the time they have spent leading the Events, CSR, Business Development, and Advocacy Committees, respectively, ensuring a professional and successful year.

The management team has experienced some changes over the past 12 months. Namuujin completed her contract, Bayarmaa supported the chamber for six months, Zola worked part-time for a portion of the year, and Amara joined as an intern and stayed on as a Business Administration Officer. However, I believe we would all agree that the most significant news is saying goodbye to Oyunaa, who has supported the chamber for many years. Oyunaa's dedication, creative input, and ability to deliver exceptional events have secured her place in AustCham's history as one of its success stories. I am sure she will fondly reminisce about the chamber's activities and the many fun moments and hard work it took to build a great, collaborative, and well- respected networking chamber. Oyunaa, we will miss you on the management team, but we look forward to seeing you at our future networking events. As we elect new members to the board, please take a moment to personally thank the outgoing and continuing board members for their time and effort in supporting the chamber in 2024.