Business between Malta and France has increased substantially, with imports into Malta amounting to €134 million and exports to France totalling €120 million. In fact, exports in goods and services from France to Malta have increased by 144 per cent whereas from Malta to France, the increase was of 32 per cent.
These figures emerged from a recent business forum entitled ‘Doing Business with France’ organised by the Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce, which coincided with the chamber’s 30th anniversary.
“The Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce, with the support of the Maltese and French Embassies, is excellently positioned and holds all the capabilities to connect all the dots to help Malta reap the business opportunities that exist between Malta and France,” said Helga Mizzi, Malta’s Ambassador in France. Ms Mizzi added that Malta’s heightened efforts to build an outstanding profile in the blockchain, crypto-currency and artificial intelligence domains, backed by legislation, is something that is being noticed in Paris and is bound to be an innovative aspect of French-Maltese relations in the coming months.
A bridge for businesses wanting a springboard to regions in Africa
“This is a field where I would definitely encourage the Chamber to take a proactive stance. I would also like to see French business interests coming to Malta in other fields such as aviation,” she said.
The Maltese Ambassador said Malta could play an active role by acting as a bridge for French businesses wanting to use Malta as a springboard to regions in Africa.
Joseph Bugeja, the Chamber’s president, said: “The Chamber today has close to 100 members and its work has been mostly made possible thanks to the support from the French diplomatic mission in Malta and also from the Maltese Embassy in Paris.
“Their assistance over the past 30 years has always been instrumental in helping us remain true to our commitment to be of service to the Maltese and French business communities, building bridges and collaborating with successful and fruitful synergies,” he added.
The forum was also addressed by Brigitte Curmi, French Ambassador to Malta, and Nancy Caruana, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business.
The Business Forum included a panel discussion with the participation of Herald Bonnici, CEO of Malta Government Investments Ltd, Laurent Zylberberg from Caisse De Depot, a French public sector financial institution, Kenneth Farrugia, chief business development officer at Bank of Valletta, Philip Martinet, managing director of Estate Wines, Bastien Paret, managing director of RCI (global leaders in holiday exchange) and Stephane Perchenet, deputy director of Business France Agency.