There was a great deal of “untapped potential” in trade and commercial relations between Malta and Slovakia, President George Abela said yesterday.
Flanked by his Slovak counterpart, Ivan Gašparovi, Dr Abela was speaking before the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry in Valletta.
Trade between the two EU member states increased over recent years although the figures remain rather low. In 2010, Malta exported €1.7 million worth of goods to Slovakia and imported €2.8 million worth. Pharmaceuticals made up the bulk of exports and most of the imports consisted of vehicles, machinery and mechanical appliances.
President Gašparovi, who yesterday ended a three-day state visit to Malta, was accompanied by a business delegation made up of representatives from more than 10 Slovak companies.
The president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Tancred Tabona said trade between Malta and Slovakia was “only the tip of the iceberg”. Opportunities in tourism, financial services and industry could also be expanded, he said. He argued that Malta’s size was one of its key advantages as putting a business idea into practice was much easier here.
Dr Abela mentioned the key geostrategic location of both countries, pointing out that while Slovakia was the gateway to Eastern Europe, Malta could be a “valuable springboard” to North Africa and the Middle East. EU membership and adoption of the euro had been economically beneficial and simplified trade exchanges between the two countries. But although trade tripled in recent years, there was still ample scope for improvement, he argued.
Slovakia and Malta both joined the EU in 2004. Malta adopted the euro as its national currency in 2008 with Slovakia following suit the following year.
Prof. Gašparovi said that while trade relations had been fairly low-key so far, he hoped this visit would spur greater investment. The two countries enjoyed high levels of mutual political trust, he said, and there was no reason why such trust could not be transferred to the economic sphere.
Malta Enterprise CEO Sue Vella touched upon the similarities between the two countries beyond membership of the EU and the eurozone. Both could boast of relatively skilled labour forces and both had tapped similar EU financial sources, most notably the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.