Alberto Rubio
A strategic location in the Mediterranean; a diversified economy, with a 6% growth forecast for 2022, and a high level of state-of-the-art technological development are the three pillars on which Malta wants to base its offensive to boost its relations at all levels with Latin American countries over the next two years.
It was with this objective in mind that the Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Evarist Bartolo, travelled to Madrid yesterday to open the Information Day ‘Discover Malta: A Meeting Point in the EU and the Mediterranean‘, held at the Hotel Urso in Madrid.
Bartolo pointed out that this meeting in the Spanish capital, where all Latin American countries are represented, underlines the “important nexus of union that is Spain, to which we are linked by our common history, as a platform to broaden and deepen our relations with Latin America”.
At the meeting, which was attended by practically all the Ibero-American ambassadors and the Secretary-General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, the members of the Maltese delegation and its ambassador in Madrid, Daniel Azzopardi, explained the economic, cultural and tourism advantages offered by their country. Among others, they recalled that this island state is one of the main container ports in the Mediterranean, as well as being a meeting point between Africa and the European Union, both commercially and culturally.
Furthermore, Malta will soon open its first embassy in South America, specifically in Brazil, to support its diplomatic expansion on the continent, since, as Christopher Cutajar, permanent secretary of the Maltese Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, explained, “Brasilia is the most appropriate capital because the European Union and Mercosur, as well as many other countries, are represented there”.
In addition to the Minister and the Foreign Secretary, the Maltese delegation was completed by Carlo Micallef, Deputy CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority; and Marion Zammit, Head Investment Promotion of Malta Enterprise, who focused their presentations on the economy of their country, with a technological development that attracts more and more ‘digital nomads‘, and the tourism opportunities it also offers in terms of investment.
The day ended with a speech by the artist José María Cano, former member of the pop group Mecano, currently living in Malta, and a networking lunch during which the ambassadors had the opportunity to discuss the details of the conference with the speakers.
Round table at the Chamber of Commerce
In the afternoon, the Foreign Minister emphasised some of these aspects during a roundtable at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, underlining that his country is a key destination in strategic sectors such as finance, ICT, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and tourism, as well as advanced manufacturing, life sciences and health, digital innovation, educational services and aviation.
Bartolo highlighted Malta’s commitment to digital transformation, as “we are the first country to propose a legal framework for the creation of an Authority to regulate Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things devices”.
