GMCC President Henry J. Borg said this on the occasion of the first anniversary of the establishment of the German-Maltese Chamber of Commerce.

“Over the past 12 months, membership has soared beyond our expectations and varies from manufacturing to tourism, from banking to other services. It is very evident that the setting up of the GMCC was not only needed but is also attracting different sectors, which have never collaborated together before. Now, our Chamber is giving all of us an opportunity to put our heads together, work together and achieve results together.”

Mr Borg announced that the AHIK – The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce around the world, has recognised the GMCC as a member, and is funding the services of a foreign consultant who is the director general of the German-Italian Chamber of Commerce to come to Malta and assist the GMCC in these years of consolidation.

“The number of events organised, sponsored or partly held by the GMCC vary from seminars to business breakfasts, sector specified meetings as well as events aimed at bringing together members and foreign counterparts. The GMCC is acting as a catalyst to promote business.”

He added that there are a number of events lined up for the coming months, including training seminars, exhibitions, fairs, and meetings with key decision-makers, both local and foreign.

Mr Borg insisted that over the past year, the GMCC’s constant presence in the media was essential in keeping the GMCC growing.

“We embarked on a PR plan which would see us through our activities. We have always succeeded in getting our message across. We have had articles published in various local newspapers, interviews on both television programmes, radios and newspapers on a regular basis.”

“We were also featured in various German magazines such as the prominent Made in Germany, newspapers such as the influential Handelsblatt, the German Financial Times with more that 1.5 million readers, television channels such as Deutsche Welle and radio programmes on the German National Radio. Over the past months, a considerable number of German journalists have been in Malta to report on Malta’s accession to the EU and as the German-Maltese Chamber, we made it possible to make our voices heard.”

Mr Borg also referred to the number of GMCC projects currently underway, which include the Business Incubation Project, the Academy for Technical Research, and trade delegations to various fairs in Germany.

He also announced that the GMCC is also present online on www.german-maltese.com through which a large number of German and European business have already made contact with the GMCC.

Mr Borg said that his dream of setting up the GMCC would not have become a reality without the support of the founder members, namely Brandstatter Malta, Hetronic Malta Ltd, Kempinski San Lawrenz Resort, Kind’s Auto Sales Ltd, Lufthansa Technik Malta Ltd, Continental Cars Ltd and Sicons Opto Products Malta Ltd, as well as the president and council members of the German Maltese Circle, and last but certainly not least the German Federal Republic’s ambassador to Malta Georg Merten and Malta’s ambassador to Germany William Spieri for their ongoing support for the chamber’s activities.

Concluding, Mr Borg said that these 12 months ended with a special event – the working visit to Malta by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder during which Dr Schroeder referred to the possibility of improving investment opportunities between Malta and Germany, especially when considering Malta’s “hub functionality” and its links with Libya.

Mr Borg said that the GMCC is conscious of the geographical position of Malta and although it was set up just a year ago, it has been working hard to promote Malta as a hub and has, in fact, just launched a training course for marketing executives in Germany to come to Malta and learn “How to Do Business in North Africa and the Middle East”.

“The raison d’etre for the GMCC is self-explanatory. We have tried very hard to lay the foundations, we have organised activities, we have been in the media – both Maltese and German – and we have made it clear that we’re here to stay and that we mean business.

“Our aim is to find more opportunities for creating synergies with German counterparts. We need to find ways of putting Malta on the map for German business to consider coming to Malta, setting up in Malta and working from Malta, to target other very important markets, such as North Africa and the Middle East.”