FOI director general meets Slovak minister

Lubomir Jahnatek, Minister for the Economy of the Slovak Republic, addressed the business community on Friday as part of his visit to Malta. The visit also coincided with the opening of an honorary consulate of the Slovak Republic in Malta.

In his meeting with the business community, held at the Exchange Building in Valletta, Mr Jahnatek called for better business collaboration between Malta and Slovakia, and expressed his confidence that, now that the two countries are forming part of the European Union, this collaboration is more possible.

Wilfred Kenely, FOI director general, delivered an address on behalf of the FOI president, referring to the FOI's role as an active social partner and the voice of the industrial community.

He highlighted the main projects that the FOI has worked on recently, particularly the Industrial Policy and the Manufacturing survey, which has proved to be a very important tool in the formulation of position papers on this sector.

Mr Kenely added that the federation is today looking outside Malta's shores and is establishing strong co-operation agreements with other European and North African countries for the benefit of the business communities of the respective countries.

He augured that, as has already happened with other countries, the relationship between the FOI and its counterpart in the Slovak Republic would grow even stronger with the presence of the Slovak Consulate in Malta. This, he added, would help to build a forum for greater interaction between businesses from the two countries.

Following the meeting on Friday, the Slovak agency for trade promotion and Malta Enterprise signed a co-operation agreement, in the presence of the Slovak minister and officials from the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise.