Malta’s oldest lobby group, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, kicked off its 175th anniversary celebrations on Friday, at an event held at its Valletta headquarters.

Founded in 1848 and based from inception on the principle of being independent of the government, the Malta Chamber today represents 75 per cent of industry exporters, with its members making up 80 per cent of all private sector employment.

It is the only institution established through Malta’s Commercial Code.

Malta Chamber president Marisa Xuereb and its CEO Marthese Portelli led the anniversary event, which was also attended by President George Vella, Prime Minister Robert Abela, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech and other distinguished guests.

Xuereb told her audience that the Chamber is there to represent all commercial enterprises.

“The Chamber does not represent large industries, it represents the entire commercial, mercantile and industrial community in Malta, from big to small,” she said.

Xuereb acknowledged that the interests of those differing businesses do not always align, saying that it was the Chamber’s job to propose long-term solutions that would benefit the entire country, not a select group.

As Abela and Grech listened on, the Malta Chamber president said it was imperative for authorities to consistently apply the law, have well-functioning institutoons with as little red tape as possible and an effective judicial system.

She also flagged the importance of education, developing with sustainability in mind and the need for greater transparency in public procurement – an issue the lobby group has long insisted is in need of reform.

Malta Chamber CEO Marthese Portelli echoed those points, describing the construction, energy and transport sectors, as well as the need to fix public procurement, enforcement and the judicial system as the country’s “elephants in the room”.

Portelli also gave the audience a rundown of the group’s activities and future plans.

The Malta Chamber has added more than 500 new members over the past two years and its membership is becoming more gender- and age- balanced. One in four members is female and roughly one in every three is under 45.

The lobby group has a representative on over 70 government boards and committees and has set up three separate public-private partnerships with the government. It employs 20 staff members.

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