Malta Enterprise is organising a business delegation to Libya with a specific focus on the ports and maritime services, thus providing companies operating in this sector the opportunity to explore the business and investment opportunities that post-revolution Libya is offering.
Led by Ministers Tonio Fenech and Jason Azzopardi, the visit will take place between 16 and 19 April, and will be the first since the uprising that revolutionised the country. However, at an institutional level Malta Enterprise has already visited Libya and, in tandem with its commercial office in Tripoli, has done its utmost to establish the formal structures required to give Maltese enterprises a good launch pad for doing business in Libya, whilst also facilitating the process for Libyan enterprises looking at trade and investment opportunities in Malta.
“The work we have done in the background in the last few months has been crucial in ensuring that any initiative we undertake can have a successful outcome, given that practically all institutions and business support organisations in Libya have undergone radical reform. In this sense, the partnership agreement Malta Enterprise has signed with the General Board for Ownership and Investment within the Libyan Ministry for Economy paves the way for our initiatives,” said Malta Enterprise executive chairman Alan Camilleri.
“Now that the situation has somewhat stabilised, we can look with optimism at organising the first of a series of sectorial delegations to Libya, which on this occasion will be focusing on the maritime industry. This delegation is particularly opportune for Maltese companies with established links to international co-investors, collaborators and principals. The information we have is that, although there is still a degree of uncertainty and it will be a while before opportunities become clearer, it is time for Maltese businesses to start exploring such opportunities.
“We had an overwhelming response to our call for interested parties to participate in the business delegations, with more than 450 companies approaching Malta Enterprise. Thus, also in consideration of the Libyan authorities’ recommendations, we have decided to organise a number of exploratory business delegations, each focusing on a specific sector,” Mr Camilleri added.
Amongst other goals, the business delegation in April is aimed at marine engineering, construction and technical services; ship repair, port management and other services; industrial fish processing and farming and yacht marina development and management, as well as maritime training and value-adding services.
Malta Enterprise will assist participants in the setting up of business meetings with their counterparts in Libya, while visits to a number of ports are also being planned so that Maltese enterprises can see the local operating environment, as well as meet the port authorities overseeing them.
Within the context of the efforts to rebuild Libya, Malta Enterprise and Transport Malta will also be organising two separate seminars for Libyan officials involved in regulating these sectors with the aim of providing training and assistance to these public bodies based on Malta’s expertise in these fields.
For further information visit www.maltaenterprise.com or contact the Internationalisation Unit at Malta Enterprise on 2542 0000 or via email internationalisation@maltaenterprise.com
(Source: Malta Independent Online)
