The Maltese Government and the Malta Chamber of Commerce are finalising plans in order to issue 90-day Visas for Libyan businessmen to travel to Malta and conduct business with Maltese entrepreneurs here. In a Parliamentary Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs, Malta Chamber and SMEs' President Anton Borg announced that the Government favours this initiative.
This will allow Maltese entrepreneurs to conduct commercial activity with Libyan businessmen in Malta rather than having to travel to Libya, facilitating the process for both parties, particularly in view of the political instability that has disrupted Libya.
Mario Vella, Chairman of Malta Enterprise, revealed the importance of Maltese – Libyan business relations by referring to significant figures from these last few years. Exportation of Maltese products and services to Libya consistently increased from €85 million in 2010 to €138 million in 2013. The figure stood at €123 million in 2014 and €23 million for the period January-April 2015.
Vella further stated the unfortunate events in Libya pushed the Maltese to look at alternative locations such as Algeria, in order to diversify their business operations. Malta Enterprise assisted Maltese companies in mitigating cash flow and tax issues amongst others.
He also pointed out that the sub-Saharan region holds great potential for Maltese businesses to tap into. In fact, some Maltese construction companies have already started operating here.
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