Malta shares the same concerns, values, and interests with France, says Carmelo Inguanez, Ambassador of Malta to France.

I am pleased to write this message to the readers of the Maltese – and am delighted to report on the exciting and interesting period through which Malta and France have passed through during these last months.

As we recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, diplomatic activity in Paris gathered momentum. Thanks to the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union which came to an end on June 30, we inherently had added activity, representation, and interaction between the members of the Maltese and French executive as well as public officials. Indeed, let me take the opportunity to congratulate the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the useful work done under their presidency and the excellent organisation of all meetings held in France including the informal ministerial meetings and the informal summit for Heads of State and Government.

In France we are blessed with a varied and spread-out Franco-Maltese diaspora

I am glad to say that over a span of a few months, the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela visited France three times. In November of last year, Prime Minister Abela attended the Paris Peace Forum as well as the French co-sponsored conference on Libya. In February 2022 the Prime Minister participated in the One Ocean Summit held in Brest. And one month later in March 2022, Dr Abela attended the informal EU summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron. This goes to show that Malta shares the same concerns, values, and interests with France and as such, is always ready and willing to partake in French European, regional, and global initiatives.

Recently we established relations with the Forum Francophone des Affaires (FFA). The FFA is one of the world’s leading networks of international companies. Present on five continents, it brings together economic players by profession, by geographical area and by country. It aims to contribute to the dialogue between business and politics, facilitate exchanges between companies and increase the influence of the private sector in the economy of countries. The FFA is a good reference point for those of you who would like to initiate or expand business ventures in France and in the francophone world. We have a bright future of collaboration together.

In France we are blessed with a varied and spread-out Franco-Maltese diaspora. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and pride to see that while they are so passionate in being Maltese, they also contribute in the French political, economic, educational, and cultural well-being. I had the occasion to meet quite a number of them and we also had the opportunity to show some of their talents.

We are now looking forward to keeping the momentum going and we aim for an increased collaboration both in parliamentary and executive spheres but also in the commercial sector. Our Ministry is now responsible for trade and therefore it falls directly on us to see the trade figures increase. As always, but now it is our legitimate duty, we stand ready to give assistance in whatever you need from this end.

We do hope that the normal times that we have enjoyed after we came out of the pandemic continue so as to be able to realise our plans for the future.