Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Federation of Industries at the Office of the Prime Minister in Castille, Valletta.

The purpose of the memorandum of understanding is to set the conditions for an eventual merger of the two organisations, within an estimated time-frame of six months. The merger also means that some laws which mention the two organisations separately have to change, and the name being given to the new organisation will be the “Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry”.

“This is a historic agreement bringing together two very important associations who have worked hard for our economic development,” said Dr Gonzi.

“It is good that they have recognised that our country is at a crucial point in its development, receiving the fruits of European Union membership and a new, strong currency which is bound to help us become more competitive, and that the officials of both organisations were conscious enough to respond to this change by joining forces in order to contribute a stronger, unified voice and benefit from these changes,” said Dr Gonzi.

“The agreement is symbolic of this awareness and fundamental for the success of our plan for the future which is to reach the ambitious goals we set for 2015 in order to create a ‘centre of excellence’,” he added.

Chamber of Commerce chairman Victor Galea said: “A short while back nobody could have possibly thought that these two organisations, with such different policies, would join forces, however we are here today to sign this memorandum of understanding so we can join together to become one.”

“There were those that did not want changes so it hasn’t been easy. However last November, after lengthy discussions, the Chamber of Commerce’s Council passed a unanimous vote towards taking this step, and we are positive this will create a stronger voice to serve the needs of our members. Therefore, I would like to thank all our councillors, officials and the Prime Minister for making this possible,” said Mr Galea.

“However, this agreement is just the beginning – it still has to be approved by our members, and we have set a time-frame of six months for the agreement to come into force,” he added.

The President of the Federation of Industries Martin Galea agreed that the merger would happen after the memorandum of understanding is approved by members of both organisations. “A lot of the council members of both organisations thought we should join forces once there is no difference in the purpose of both organisations. Commerce is growing especially in manufacture and information technology and although in some sectors it is decreasing this is always happening and we must continue to support the others of value which are growing,” he said.

Mr Galea concluded by thanking all those involved in the feasibility studies which led to the memorandum of understanding.