Air Malta is to operate a weekly charter flight to Warsaw between June and September, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg announced in the Polish capital yesterday.
Dr Borg is accompanying President Eddie Fenech Adami, who is on a two-day state visit to Poland.
"The opening of our embassy in Warsaw last year has helped to facilitate travel between the two countries. It is important for Malta to have a link to a country of 38 million people," Dr Borg said.
The Saturday flight is being launched following months of talks between Air Malta officials and Polish tour operators, according to Victor Mifsud, the national carrier's head of charter sales.
The airline operated a scheduled service to Warsaw 10 years ago but the route was discontinued when response waned. Renewed interest by tour operators meant the commitment to the route is shared by both countries, Mr Mifsud said.
Provisional data for January to November last year shows Polish visitors to Malta numbered 6,899, up from the record 6,572 in 2006. Maltese travellers in the same period last year totalled 950.
The airline's officials are part of Malta's largest business delegation travelling with Dr Fenech Adami. Led by the top brass of Malta Enterprise, Finance Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta Employers' Association, and the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, the 70-odd delegates represent a cross-section of Malta's commercial, services and industrial sectors from IT solutions and contractors to English language schools and agricultural producers.
They spent yesterday attending one-to-one meetings with their Polish counterparts, pre-arranged on their own initiative or in collaboration with Maltese organisations in various parts of Warsaw.
In the morning, many attended a seminar at the seat of the Confederation of Polish Employers, which represents 6,000 companies employing two million people.
Confederation president Andrzej Malinowski said it was "high time" Malta stopped being Poland's smallest commercial partner within the EU. He pointed out that the pace of foreign direct investment in Poland was among the fastest in the EU.
Malta Enterprise chief executive Chris Falzon told the seminar that the presence of such a large trade delegation was evidence of the significance given to working with Poland and of Maltese determination to secure foreign trade. Letters of intent were signed by the confederation with Malta Enterprise and the MEA.
Poland, one of the EU's largest members, is currently discussing its possible accession to the eurozone in 2012. The country, which like Malta has signed the Schengen agreement, hopes to join the ERM in the spring of next year.
Local officials said a solid banking system, which has not been affected by the global crisis and investment incentives, including 14 special economic zones across the country, were among its international trade attractions.
The unemployment rate, which in some regions ranged between 20 and 30 per cent in 2004, had fallen to 9.1 per cent by last November, but salaries are expected to rise and are not one of Poland's main competitive advantages. The average wage is $1,530.
Meanwhile, Dr Fenech Adami addressed the seminar after a morning of official engagements, including talks with Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
He said Polish authorities were "seriously considering" opening an embassy in Malta to further strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries since 1971.
Dr Fenech Adami said Malta and Poland's accession to the EU had simplified trade exchange and investment flows.
"Bilateral exchange has almost doubled since accession but is well below potential. The importance of exchange of business delegations on a regular and more systematic basis cannot be emphasised enough," he pointed out.
Malta, he added, could be a valuable springboard from which Polish businesses could venture into North Africa and the Middle Eastern markets.
Speaking at the official dinner hosted by the Polish President last night, Dr Fenech Adami said today he will be visiting Auschwitz.
His visit coincides with the 64th anniversary of the liberation of what the United Nations World Heritage Committee officially calls the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945).
"Auschwitz Birkenau is a symbol of horror and what I term as what man should not be and should not do," he said.