Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise president Louis Apap Bologna formed part of a business delegation which accompanied Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo on a visit to Cairo.

The visit took place last week and was intended to forge closer ties with the business community of Egypt and with Maltese honorary consuls in the Middle East region.

Among the highlights of the visit was a “Malta Day” event which was held in conjunction with the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association at its headquarters in Giza, Cairo. This event was addressed by Mr Apap-Bologna, who gave a presentation about the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and its business links with EU and Euro-Mediterranean associations.

The chamber president spoke at length about the main components of the Maltese economy at the start of the 21st century and about the country’s experience in trading with Arab nations.

He also referred to the country’s role within the European Union to which he stated, Malta intended to bring an added Mediterranean dimension. Malta intended to capitalise on its excellent commercial relations with all its trading partners, to the benefit of all concerned.

He told the Egyptian business leaders that their country was to gain from this role as Malta was now serving as an open gateway to all 25 EU member states. At the same time, it brought the EU closer to the Egyptian business community.