Frendo's pitch for stronger commercial ties with Egypt

Malta as an investment, trade and services opportunity was promoted in Cairo during a three-day visit by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo to Egypt, leading a strong Maltese business delegation in meetings with Egyptian business people at a Malta Day held at the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA) headquarters in Cairo.

Presentations by public sector organisations and private sector companies were followed by one-on-one meetings and networking between the Maltese and Egyptian participants. These contacts will be followed up in the coming months by the respective individual company and organisation representatives.

This networking initiative came as a result of a visit by Minister Frendo to Egypt last December where he had also met with EBA's chairman, Gamal El Nazer, who also presided over the proceedings during Malta Day.

In his introduction, Dr Frendo emphasised the importance of combining Malta's and Egypt's political engagement with a business-to-business relationship and where he stated that Egypt is "a neighbour, a country with which Malta has had long-standing historical connections, a country of focus for Malta's foreign policy and external trade relations".

Presentations by the Maltese delegation included those by Ambassador to Egypt Richard Vella Laurenti, Dennis Vella (Malta Enterprise), Louis Apap Bologna (president, Chamber of Commerce), Romwald Lungaro Mifsud (chairman, MTA), John Pace (Bank of Valletta), Charles Busuttil (Foster Clark), and Samir Alaily, Malta's honorary consul in Alexandria.

In Cairo, the Maltese business delegation's programme also included participation in working sessions with 10 of Malta's honorary consuls from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the first Middle East Regional Meeting for Maltese consuls held back-to-back with Malta Day.

Dr Frendo presided over the first working session of this "trialogue" between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the honorary consuls of the region and the Maltese business delegation. Discussions centred on trade and investment opportunities and promotion initiatives.

The Malta Embassy in Cairo has also started preparations together with the EBA to organise an Egypt Day in Malta later this year.

The Maltese business delegation also included Justin Zammit Tabona, president, Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association, Mark Guillaumier, chief executive, Malta Stock Exchange, Saviour Grima, senior officer, Customs Authority, Joe Cauchi, Air Malta, Joseph Attard, managing director, International Maritime Ltd, Andrea Agius, director, Chef Choice, Trafford Busuttil, director, Property Line Real Estate, Chris Degiorgio and David Melillo from Foster Clark, and Saviour Farrugia, director, Jon David Ltd.

During his visit to Cairo and Alexandria Dr Frendo also addressed a Euro-Med Regional Convention on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership organised by the French Ministry for Foreign Trade in Cairo.

Dr Frendo spoke about the importance of trade facilitation, coherent and transparent regulation and respect for the rule of law, and the furtherance and support of democratic processes which are not imposed from above but which derive from the development of civil society throughout the whole region. He referred to the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy and how this must not be seen as substituting, but as a bilateral complementary tool to the multilateral Euro-Med Barcelona Process.

Meetings with ministers

Minister Frendo also met with Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy, Tourism Minister Ahmad L. Maghraby, the Chief of Intelligence, Minister Omar Suleiman, and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for European Affairs, Ashraf Rashed.

He also visited the Euro-Mediterranean Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures in Alexandria and had meetings with its director-general Dr Traugott Schaufthaler

With Minister Fahmy Dr Frendo discussed the possibility of Maltese and Egyptian companies setting up joint ventures in various areas.

Mr Fahmy, who is also chairman of Egypt's Committee for Investment, was invited by Dr Frendo to participate in a panel on oil and gas in the Commonwealth Business Forum to be held in Malta in November in conjunction with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Similar invitations have also been made to other petroleum ministers in North Africa.

At a breakfast meeting held at the Egyptian Tourism Minister's residence, Dr Frendo and Minister Maghraby discussed areas where Malta and Egypt can co-operate in tourism, including flight connections between Malta and Egypt.

At this meeting, Minister Frendo was accompanied by Mr Zammit Tabona, Mr Lungaro Mifsud, and Mr Cauchi.

The current political and security situation in the Middle East and the Middle East peace process were discussed at a meeting at the Egyptian Intelligence Headquarters between Dr Frendo and Omar Suleiman, Chief of Intelligence of Egypt.

Visit to Anna Lindh Foundation

Dr Frendo was the first EU Foreign Minister to visit the Anna Lindh Foundation since its official opening a few weeks ago. The foundation, named after the Swedish foreign minister who was assassinated in September 2003, is dedicated to dialogue between cultures. Malta had bid for the seat of this foundation which went to Alexandria, Egypt.

In his meeting with the foundation's executive director, Dr Traugott Schaufthaler, Minister Frendo emphasised Malta's focus on the Euro-Med area in its foreign policy and stated that Malta was committed to engage with the Anna Lindh Foundation and give its contribution to the development of a stronger dialogue between cultures which was now needed more than ever in view of the current international situation.

Dr Schaufthalter said that he was aware of Malta's important role in the Mediterranean and appreciated the important contribution which Malta can give to the process.

Dr Frendo's visit was extensively covered in the Egyptian Press. He was also interviewed by the Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The minister was accompanied throughout his visit in Egypt by Ambassador Vella Laurenti, and assisted by Helga Zahra, First Secretary at the Malta Embassy in Cairo, and Henriette Sultana from the minister's private secretariat.

His delegation included Charles Inguanez, head of protocol and consular affairs, and Charles Galea, head of the economic and cultural section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Inguanez and Mr Galea co-chaired the regional consuls' meeting in Cairo.