LAUNCH OF A PROGRAMME OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND THE MALTA EXTERNAL TRADE CORPORATION (METCO)

The need has increasingly been felt by METCO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for Economic Services to extend the traditional remit of involvement in political and diplomatic questions to cover tangible economic issues, particularly in co-operating with such functional bodies as METCO and others, in joint projects designed to promote Malta’s business advantages overseas.

This morning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Press Conference was held to launch a programme, involving specific trade promotion initiatives covering Egypt, the UK, and the Nertherlands, to be operated in close co-operation between diplomatic staff at the Malta Embassies in these three countries and METCO.

The Press Conference was opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Joe Borg, and the Minister for Economic Services, Prof. Josef Bonnici, and was also addressed by the Chairman of METCO, Mr. Anthony Diacono, and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gaetan Naudi. Also present were the three Heads of the Missions involved, Dr. George Bonello du Puis, Mr George Doublesin, and Mr Adrian Strickland. This very high level of representation attests to the strong political support this joint programme enjoys.

METCO has already carried out an intensive 3 week training programme for the diplomats who will be involved in implementing the projects in their country of posting. These projects, which are planned to be staggered over a 12 to 18 month period, will entail "inter alia" the organisation of trade missions, a series of seminars and presentations, the production of newsletters for both Maltese exporters and companies in the countries being targeted, and the setting-up within the Embassy of a Business Information Unit which will incorporate a database facility.

The ultimate aim of the METCO-Ministry of Foreign Affairs project is that of making Malta’s diplomatic network more effective in its trade promotion endeavours in the interest of Maltese industry and the Maltese economy as a whole.