The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has officially launched the Maltese-Turkish Business Council with the aim to promote business between Malta and Turkey and, in the process, create business opportunities for the Maltese business community.

In his address, Malta Chamber president Anton Borg said that business councils represent some of the very best that the Malta Chamber stands for. These entities are concrete proof of the Malta Chamber's drive to strengthen its efforts in the area of internationalisation, a necessity for a small, open economy in a globalised world.

Mr Borg said that there is enormous economic potential in striking business relationship with Turkey, a country with a population of 78 million and which has registered abnormally high growth rates in the years 2000 to 2010. It is this sort of potential that the MTBC shall endeavour to exploit for the benefit of Malta Chamber members and in turn the country's economic growth.

Addressing the launch, which took place at the Exchange Buildings in Valletta, were also the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Ayşe Sezgin; Maltese-Turkish Business Council chairman Dr Mark Bencini; HSBC Malta head of Commercial Banking Michel Cordina; Maltese-Turkish Business Council (Turkey) chairman Halis Ali Çakmak and the Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Dr Chris Cardona.