President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and President of the Republic of Albania Ilir Meta addressed the Gozo Plenary Session of the Malta-Albania Business Forum – the first of its kind to take place in Gozo.
President Coleiro Preca said the Gozo Plenary Session of the Malta-Albania Business Forum was organised in Gozo, “because we are convinced that both our business communities will find relevant counterparts to explore possibilities of potential collaboration and partnership”. She added that collaborations and partnerships can take place in diverse areas of interest including financial services, construction, healthcare, education and training, transhipment and logistics, tourism, hospitality, and the teaching of English as a foreign language.
Regarding tourism, the President said this is not only an economic operation: we must see it as an opportunity for person-to-person connections and friendship-building between our two peoples.
Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana welcomed the Albanian Trade delegation to Gozo and said Gozo is experiencing an economic growth without precedent – especially in the past five years – when the Gozitan island experienced a substantial increase in the Gross Domestic Product of EUR80 million. Minister Caruana added that Gozo’s economic development will continue to experience growth due to ongoing and planned ambitious projects for the island.
The Minister for Gozo encouraged local Gozitan businesses to take this quality step needed to begin searching and exploring new opportunities. She also reminded that Gozitans had to surpass various obstacles along the years – which helped in the formation of the national identity. Minister Caruana wished the best to all Gozitan entrepreneurs to take this opportunity during this business forum and augured success.
Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Chris Cardona said, “today’s business forum is further proof that the bilateral relationship between our countries is geared towards enhancing our economies’ competitiveness with the rest of the world whilst contributing to economic growth and job creation”.
Following the speeches, a historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Gozo Business Chamber and the Chamber of Commerce and Investment of Tirana.
Minister Cardona said, “the signing of today’s MOU will further promote the relationship with Albania, to build a future with mutual benefits, joint development, and economic prosperity”.