High-level talks between Malta and Qatar regarding the possibility of buying oil and gas at advantageous prices from the Gulf State are believed to have taken place during an unannounced visit of the Maltese Minister of Finance in Qatar.
The Gulf Times yesterday reported that Finance Minister Tonio Fenech had talks with the Qatari Minister of Energy and Industry, Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, who is also chairman and managing director of Qatar Petroleum.
Though the report shied from going into detail about what was actually on the agenda, and limited itself to just describing the talks as covering co-operation in matters of mutual interest, it was also highly significant that the two ministers met at the Qatar Petroleum headquarters, which is the third largest oil company in the world by oil and gas reserves.
Besides the presence of the Maltese ambassador to the Gulf States, Frank Galea, that of high-ranking officials of QP and QP International further confirms the two sides are keen to explore a possible deal.
Relations between the two countries grew stronger particularly since 2009 when President George Abela led a business delegation in Qatar. This was followed by another commercial delegation, led by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who visited several Gulf States including Qatar. Last January the government had to cancel a planned high level business delegation to Tunisia and Qatar, after the Prime Minister, who was supposed to lead this delegation, had to deal with urgent matters at home related to the Franco Debono issue and a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Another visit is in the pipeline and Malta Enterprise is accepting interested parties to take part in an Investment and Trade Promotion delegation to Riyadh and Doha between 13-18 April.
Meanwhile the government has been coy on the Finance Minister’s visit, and no official mention was made by the Department of Information (DOI). While this newspaper is informed that at the end of his visit in the Gulf State the Minister of Finance left directly for an ECOFIN meeting in Copenhagen, according to a press release issued yesterday morning by the DOI, he left from Malta.
In the Danish capital, Mr Fenech will also attend a Eurogroup meeting, with the current situation in Greece, Spain and Belgium on the agenda. The Danish presidency will lead talks about the second bailout package to Greece, and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and European Commissioner Olli Rehn are expected to take part.
Meanwhile the ECOFIN meeting will tackle the latest economic and financial
developments in the Eurozone, legislative proposals in the financial services sector, rules dealing with credit agencies and preparations for the spring meetings of the IMF and the G20.