Malta Enterprise and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, with the support of the Maltese Embassy in Tunis, have organised a business delegation to Tunisia with the remit to explore the trade and investment opportunities that the new business environment in one of Malta’s closest neighbours has to offer.
The delegation’s fact-finding mission is the first to visit the country following the uprisings earlier this year, and confirms Malta Enterprise’s proactive approach aimed at supporting local businesses and industries.
The initiative, which is a follow-up to the establishment of the Maltese-Tunisian Business Council, will help strengthen links between the various business organisations, thereby facilitating business opportunities between enterprises of the two countries at such a historical time for Tunisia, where some of the organisations have undergone extensive restructuring to reflect the new reality in the country.
The delegation is comprised of 11 companies involved in a wide range of sectors in Malta, such as renewable energy, electronics, waste management, education and training and chemicals, as well as construction, project management and building materials.
As part of their support, Malta Enterprise and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry attracted over 40 Tunisian companies through their networks and have held over 80 one-to-one meetings, as a result of which some companies have found new business contacts and opportunities, while others have followed up on leads they explored while preparing for the delegation.
Participants also had the opportunity to visit a number of major events which are concurrently being held to promote the new trade and investment opportunities in Tunisia, namely the Tunisian Investment Forum, the Tunis-Medindustrie Fair and the Fortronic Fair, where they also had the opportunity to network with more companies not only from within Tunisia but also from other countries.
Meanwhile, earlier this week Malta Enterprise signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre de Promotion des Exportations de la Tunisie (CEPEX), whereby the two organisations agreed to increase their collaboration with the intention of promoting two-way business relations and trade.
Malta Enterprise and CEPEX will be exchanging information on trends, as well as trade and investment opportunities in Malta and Tunisia. Furthermore, they have agreed to organise business missions, seminars, training courses and networking workshops in both countries, while also seeking to facilitate increased cooperation, synergies and joint ventures between private sector companies in Malta and Tunisia, which they will also be supporting through networking events.
An action plan for the next two years will be discussed at a meeting to be held shortly in Tunis, when Malta Enterprise will discuss a similar Memorandum of Understanding with the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) with a view to exploring feasible ways of collaboration. While in Tunis, Malta Enterprise is also expected to meet L’Agence de Promotion de l’Industrie et de l’Innovation (APII) to discuss ways of encouraging networking between institutions supporting SMEs in Tunisia and Malta.