On July 9th 2008 H.E. Dr. Edward Fenech-Adami, President of
Malta visited Kyiv, Ukraine with an official visit. Maltese President met his
Ukrainian counterpart and other senior governmental officials to discuss
prospects for the enhancement of the bilateral relations in political and
commercial areas, including trade, investment and tourism.
The two sides signed two intergovernmental agreements, namely one on
cooperation in the tourism sector and one on law enforcement. Additionally, the
Presidents discussed the details of the pending bilateral agreement on double
taxation. President of Malta extended an invitation to the President of Ukraine
to come with the visit to Valletta.
The Maltese President was accompanied by the business delegation
spearheaded by the chairman of the Malta Enterprise. The business mission
explored investment opportunities and looked for cooperation with the Ukrainian
companies. In this respect, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
hosted a Maltese-Ukrainian Business Forum. The program of the forum envisioned
face-to-face meetings between the Maltese and Ukrainian companies followed by a
plenary session where representatives from both Maltese and Ukrainian sides
delivered presentations on doing business with Malta and Ukraine. Presidents of
Malta and Ukraine addressed the participants of the forum as well.
Also, European Business Association hosted a networking reception on the
occasion of the visit of the Maltese business mission, which was attended by
the business circles of Kyiv and top officials from Malta.
Today the Maltese business delegation will pay a visit to the Kyiv City
State Administration, where it will meet with the Vice Mayor as well as with
the relevant departments in charge of foreign direct investment and
international economic cooperation. Later on, President of the American Chamber
of Commerce will brief the business delegation on the challenges of doing
business in Ukraine.
Malta is strategically located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea,
between Sicily and North Africa, is an ideal hub for business transactions in the
region. In 1990 Malta applied for the full membership in the European Union and
embarked on an extensive economic and restructuring program joining the Union in
2004.
Malta is a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program having
reactivated its membership status at the Summit in Bucharest on April 3, 2008,
after 12 years of keeping its security intact.