Over the past years, the Internationalisation Committee pursued a strategy of encouraging the setting up of business councils. The scope of Business Councils is to gather members who are interested in working towards increasing business relations with the country. The councils reach out to relevant stakeholders such as:
- Malta’s diplomatic- and consular representation in the territory.
- Diplomatic and consular representations accredited to Malta.
- Other business promotion entities such as Malta Enterprise, Finance Malta and MTA.
- Relevant ministries such as Foreign Affairs, Finance (MFEI) and Tourism.
- Businesses, business persons and individuals from the territory living in Malta.
- Maltese businesspersons, businesses and individuals living in the territory.
Examples of activities such business councils can choose to undertake are:
- Seminars and events about the territory, held in Malta
- Participation in fairs and other events in the territory.
- Lobbying for, helping to organise, and participating in- Maltese business missions to the territory.
- Networking to share ideas and information.
- Promoting the general knowledge of Malta in the territory.
The Malta Chamber currently has four business councils. These are:
The Scandinavian Business Forum
This committee started meeting at the end of 2009, and had its’ official launch in October 2010 under the leadership of Chairman Dr. Mark Fenech. The launch was very well attended, with more than 150 attendees. The event was addressed by the Hon. Ministers Tonio Borg and Tonio Fenech as well as a series of Scandinavian guest speakers.
This very active committee meets on a monthly basis over and above regular meetings with Malta Enterprise and Finance Malta as well as ad hoc meetings with other stakeholders.
For further information, please refer here.
The Tunisian Business Council
The formation of this council has been underway since the visit of a Tunisian delegation to Malta in 2009. A bi-lateral agreement with a Tunisian business organisation has been set up to create the framework for collaboration between a Maltese and a Tunisian side of this entity. This agreement was signed by Mr. Michael Farrugia of the Internationalisation Committee, during a business delegation to Tunisia in 2010. Since then, the Maltese side of this council has been established within the Malta Chamber.
For further information, please refer here.
The German Business Council
This business council was formed towards the end of 2010 and elected Mr. Karl Aquilina, a member of the Internationalisation Committee, as Chairman. This Council aims to promote trade and investment between Malta and Germany and to create a network of individuals and organisations that can assist in reaching this goal.
For further information, please refer here.
The Egyptian Business Council
This council was set up with Mr. Nick Callus as the elected Chairman, with the intention of forming a business council in collaboration with the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association. The Maltese side was set up successfully and has met on several occasions.