Bank of Valletta and the Malta Maritime Forum have entered into a collaboration agreement which will enable both entities to co-organise events and initiatives which are of mutual interest. This agreement was signed by Kenneth Farrugia, Chief Business Development (Investments) Officer at Bank of Valletta and Dr Joe Borg, President of the MMF and former European Commissioner.
During a brief meeting hosted at BOV Centre, Kenneth Farrugia said, "It is clearly evident that in a relatively short span of time, actually since its set-up in 2015, the MMF has managed to bring together the key stakeholders of the industry which is a laudable achievement. The benefit of coordinating the efforts of different stakeholders in the industry is of utmost importance because it enables the pooling of resources, knowledge and experience to the benefit of the various facets of the maritime industry."
Dr Borg acknowledged the tendency of operators in the industry to work in silos. "However, through its diverse member base which comprises amongst others operators in the ship terminals, ship repair yard, ship owners and shipping agents, the Malta Maritime Forum is today well positioned to holistically identify the requirements of this dynamic industry and launch initiatives with the view of sustaining the growth of the dynamic sectors making up this important industry for Malta's economy.
"Harnessing the varied interests, views and aspirations of the various stakeholders was not an easy task but it is clearly evident that there are convergent views on the importance of working and collaborating together on matters concerning the sustainability of this industry," he explained.
In this regard, he also mentioned the fact that the Forum is building an international presence for itself in the maritime industry. In fact, Malta has its representatives on the executive council of the IMO, which is the highest international maritime organisation, as well as on the executive council of the Comité Maritime International, a leading world authority on maritime law.
Speaking about the collaboration agreement, Kenneth Farrugia said that the bank's involvement goes beyond the financial support it is extending to the MMF. "In effect, the bank has also extended its specialist resources in the various spheres of business of the bank, such as corporate finance, trade finance as well as those relating to the various electronic banking services provided by the bank that will be made directly available to the Forum as well as to its members."
He reiterated that the bank seeks to "use this collaboration agreement to extend the knowledge and experience of its professional human resources to the Forum's members to enhance the way they are conducting their business. In the process, the MMF and Bank of Valletta will also be discussing ways to design and develop bespoke products and services tailored to meet the requirements of the various operators in the maritime industry."