Speech by the Hon. Josef Bonnici, Minister for Economic Services, at the official opening of the Malta Commercial Office (METCO's Libya Office) at 195, Great Al Fateh Tower, Tripoli.

Your Excellency, Mr Chairman, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Malta and Libya have enjoyed excellent economic and political relations for many years, but above all, Malta and Libya consider one another as friends first and foremost.

In recent years, trade and investment relations between the two countries have been strengthened as both countries have made concerted efforts to promote the development of their respective industries.

As The Chairman of METCO mentioned, during the year 2000, the volume of trade between the two countries amounted to over Lm11.7 million (USD 26.3m) worth of exports from Malta to Libya, while exports from Libya to Malta amounted to over Lm16.23 million (USD 36.5m) during the same year.

While the range of products exported from Malta to Libya is already varied we feel that there is scope for widening the range of products.

Of course, trade has to be two-way, and Malta is keen to assist Libyan companies in their endeavors to export to Malta as well as other countries. Here too, it is felt that there is potential to widen the range of products which Libya can export to us.

It is here that Malta can play an important role by helping Libyan companies expand their operations and sales to Europe, especially to the European Union. Indeed, Malta's membership of the European Union could prove to be invaluable to Libya in realizing these objectives. With Malta as a member of the European Union, I can say with conviction that Libya can count on having a friend within the European Union.

It is also equally true that Libya could have an important role to play in helping Maltese companies to do business in other African states. In this context, Libya's farsighted initiative of promoting African unity is something, which Malta looks upon very favourably. While Malta can help Libya in Europe, it is also true that Libya can help Malta in Africa.

The Government of Malta and especially my Ministry, the Ministry for Economic Services, is determined to continue building upon the existing political and economic relations between the two countries. Indeed, the opening of METCO's Office in Libya is not only indicative of the importance attached to Libya but is also a visible and tangible expression of this desire to consolidate our economic and political relations with Libya.

This is clearly visible from the Mission Statement of METCO's Office in Libya, already referred to by Mr. Diacono, that our aims include:-

promoting two-way trade and investment opportunities between Malta and Libya;

increasing the level of bilateral trade and other business exchanges for mutual benefit;

and encouraging tri-partite trade and other forms of business cooperation between Maltese and Libyan companies.

This event also concludes a successful trade delegation, which visited both Benghazi and Tripoli. Our Maltese businessmen had several fruitful contacts, and some orders have been concluded and others are at an advanced stage. We are planning to organize more trade delegations to Libya this year. The Libya Office will be the vital link for the organisation of these trade delegations, and the follow-up required.

I would like to conclude this brief address by reiterating Malta's commitment to strengthening the economic relations and friendship that exists between the two countries. I would also like to thank the Libyan Government for making the opening of METCO's Office in Libya possible. In particular, I would like to thank His Excellency Mr Ali Mohammed Saleh Nagem and His Excellency Dr Richard Vella Laurenti for their wholehearted support and for their invaluable assistance without which the opening of METCO's Office in Libya would not have been possible.