The Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, Dr Chris Cardona, addressed a Korea – Malta Business Forum, organised by Malta Enterprise in collaboration with the Korea Trade-Investment promotion agency (KOTRA) and the Korean Embassy to Italy.
Minister Cardona said that Malta can provide a good base for goods and services originating from Korea that are destined for Europe or Africa. At the same time Korea is an economic giant in East Asia and can offer selected niches of business opportunities for Maltese companies.
Referring to the Maltese economic performance, Minister Cardona said that Malta’s economy is doing well with a real economic growth of 3.6% in 2014.
“The figures for the first six months of 2015 indicate that this growth will be repeated again this year. This is no small feat considering that Malta is surrounded by neighbours that are living in economic turbulence,” said Dr. Cardona.
He emphasised that while Malta’s currency is the Euro, Malta is open for business with all countries of the world and that this has been a traditional vocation of Malta namely that of trading and manufacturing for countries and communities across the globe.
“It is no coincidence that Malta has one of the highest exports per capita among the 28 EU States for exports that go outside of the European community,” said Minister Cardona.
Dr Cardona said that the Maltese Government is keen on continuing to enhance relationships with South Korea and suggested that Malta Enterprise and KOTRA set up a working group to devise a long-term plan of collaborative action between the two institutions in support of Korean and Maltese companies.
Korea is the seventh larger exporter in the world with a very strong presence in the Mediterranean and a significant number of Maltese companies already represent Korean companies in Malta and the region.
The Korea-Malta Business Forum was also addressed by Ambassador Lee from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Malta, Mr Jung the Director General of KOTRA, Malta’s Ambassador for Korea Mark Spiteri and Mr Mario Galea Principal Chief Officer at Malta Enterprise.
During the Seminar Ambassador Lee announced that KOTRA will be setting up a presence in Malta as an extension of their Milano Office. Minister Cardona pledged the full support of the Maltese government and of Malta Enterprise to this initiative.