Month: February 2020

Tech.mt, an agency created by the Government and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, participated in Junior College’s Wellbeing and Sports Festival to promote the “importance of Digital Wellbeing”.

The agency is tasked with promoting Malta’s strategy on Innovative Technology.

“Technology has become an integral component of daily life, however, going online can also pose challenges for young people. Our digital wellbeing can be influenced by the choices we make online, the content we see and the interactions we have with others,” a spokesperson said.

“We believe technology should play a helpful, useful role in people’s lives and thus we are committed to ensure that youths understand the fundamentals of being safe and responsible digital citizens.”

The General Affairs Council of the European Union has authorised the European Commission to start negotiations for a new partnership with the UK, talks the Malta Business Bureau expects to be difficult, especially because of time pressures.

“Both the EU and the UK should, therefore, keep an open mind on the possibility of making use of the one-time extension that needs to be triggered by mid-2020 in order to pursue further discussions post the deadline,” Mr Tanti said.

He pointed out that it is crucial for Malta that the future EU-UK deal ensures that travel between the two blocs continues to take place unhindered, particularly for the aviation sector and the movement of people for short-term travel. Considering the big volume of trade in goods, it is important to maintain tariff and quota free trade, while non-tariff barriers are kept strictly to a minimum, he added.

Mr Tanti added: “From our sources in Brussels, we increasingly hear that, due to the constraints of time, a deal could primarily focus on the movement of goods. However, the Maltese economy also depends strongly on the provision of services, and, therefore, we urge for a parallel ambitious agreement in the trade of services that avoids divergence in rules as much as possible, and with continuous regulatory cooperation in the coming years to avoid barriers to trade in this area.”

The Malta Chamber met with Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, Investment, and Small Business, last week to discuss matters relating to Malta’s reputation and the impact this was having on investment and the economy.

The delegation, which was led by Malta Chamber President Perit David Xuereb, spoke about issues of competitiveness in general, but mainly in cost sensitive sectors such as manufacturing. In relation to the same topic, the Chamber underlined its preoccupation on energy costs and incentives, industrial relations as well as the ever-increasing challenges brought about by skills shortages.

The Chamber also spoke about the recent campaign it led in collaboration with Malta enterprise titled ‘Make it’ which cast a light on the exciting careers in the Manufacturing Industry. The campaign which ran during the first quarter of 2019 registered extremely encouraging results, as it was addressed at teens and young adults who would be at a point in their lives when they would be choosing their career paths.

The meeting also discussed the success of the public private partnership the Chamber entered with Government Trade Malta, as well as the Chamber’s vast number of initiatives in the important field of Internationalisation.

Mr Xuereb also told Minister Schembri how the Chamber was launching its new Economic Vision for the country on Wednesday.

Other topics that were discussed included the importance of the 6/7ths tax system for FDIs, the Chamber’s Family Business Initiatives and the Chamber position regarding on Air Malta.