The French Embassy and the French government agency Business France (the French Government agency in charge of export and attractiveness) on December 17 launched the very first act of a series of initiatives dedicated to the Maltese islands, through an economic webinar.
The aim of this event was to promote the Maltese archipelago's very ambitious projects in terms of reducing its carbon footprint, but also in order to put local opportunities into perspective for French business leaders.
Malta can boast five years of steady growth and the context of recovery after the health crisis is an opportune moment to take stock of the strategy of this European country.
Orchestrated by Brigitte Curmi, Ambassador of France in Malta, the webinar gathered online more than 50 attendants. Ian Borg, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure and Miriam Dalli, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development expressed their views. They both insisted on the target of a carbon-neutral economy in 2050 as a strategic priority that is consistent with the main infrastructure investments planned all across the Maltese islands.
A very particular attention has been paid to the 'Malta - Smart Island’ plan, elaborated by the Malta Chamber of Commerce and adopted by the national authorities, which is primarily dedicated to intelligent mobility, the environment, health, fintech and EdTech.
The heads of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, David Xuereb, Transport Malta, Joseph Bugeja and Malta Enterprise, Kurt Farrugia, then spoke from a more business perspective on the current and future local needs and opportunities.
The intervention of the president of the Maltese French Chamber of Commerce, Joseph Bugeja, as well as the testimonies by two French managers based on the Maltese islands (representing Chiliz and RCI Bank & Services) provided the numerous participants with a range of concrete advantages of living and working in Malta.
This first step, which aims to build business and capital partnerships in both directions between Malta and France, will be quickly supplemented in the coming months by two sector-based webinars, to deepen the knowledge of French business leaders, and finally by a 'full-scale' seminar before next summer with the visit of a French economic delegation to Valletta. A major campaign to promote the Maltese economic activity and its many assets will be organised by Business France, using their social networks between January and March.
Ambassador Curmi stressed: "The common will in France and in Malta to attract talents, SMEs and start-ups, to encourage the mobility, the circular economy and to promote the digital economy."
Minister Dalli praised Malta's ambitions in terms of the blue economy and the many initiatives for a ‘clean sea’ and listed many possible sectors of cooperation between the two countries, ‘including energy, new technologies and innovation’.
Minister Borg emphasized at length the benefits of a growing Franco-Maltese cooperation and discussion. He highlighted the many Maltese advances in terms of mobility, such as "the projects to bring Malta and Gozo closer together."