The timing could not have been better – on the eve of the Malta-Turkey football clash and the commemoration of the Great Siege victory, representatives of the Maltese and Turkish chambers of commerce yesterday put pen to paper in what is hoped will usher in a new era of cooperation between the Mediterranean-bordering countries.
The council is set to focus on, among a number of areas, improving trade and relations between Malta – the smallest EU member state – and Turkey – the largest EU member state should its membership bid go through.
The council, the Maltese side of which will be headed by MP Karmenu Vella, is to operate through the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board.
Malta’s exports to Turkey, made up mainly of steel waste and electronic semiconductors, totalled EUR3.5 million in 2005. They are, at present outweighed 10 times over by imports from Turkey to the tune of EUR35 million.
Speaking yesterday, Malta Chamber of Commerce president Victor Galea commented, “I am confident that business between our two countries will improve. Malta is experiencing excellent results in particular sectors such as ICT-related industries – including remote gaming and back-office services, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, real estate and financial services. Turkey contributes in no small way to the latter sector.
Turkish Credit Institutions Licence Holders include Akbank T.A.S., Finansbank (Malta) Limited and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi.
“Important factors taken into consideration by various investors prior to establishing a presence in Malta include the highly-skilled and multi-lingual workforce, our infrastructure as well as Malta’s EU membership.”
Mr Galea appealed to the Turkish business community to seriously consider Malta as a location for future business ventures, underlining that Malta’s existing incentives,
as well as the country’s
flexible and adaptable
workforce served as a major incentive in attracting
foreign direct investment.
Mr Galea also welcomed the possibility of
partnerships between Maltese and Turkish
businesses in further
penetrating the promising and quickly-emerging
North African market.