MITA as part of a delegation in Ukraine

Written by MITA’s delegation in Ukraine

MITA has this week been invited to be part of a business delegation to travel to Ukraine with Her Excellence, the President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, to continue strengthening the business ties between the two countries.

This was only possible after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Consultations signed in May 2016 enabling the further strengthening of dialogue and cooperation between the two Governments. New opportunities are being explored in areas including the tourism industry, aircraft registration, aviation services, financial and banking services, the insurance sector, pharmaceuticals, information technology including iGaming, healthcare, education and the teaching of English as a foreign language.

Our Maltese President met His Excellency, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, before the bilateral talks between the delegations from Malta and Ukraine. The two Presidents presided over the signing of the Programme of Cooperation in the Youth Field and the Field of Physical Culture and Sport between the Government of Malta and the Government of Ukraine. In a joint press conference Her Excellency proudly announced that Malta’s National Airline will be operating direct flights to Ukraine in 2018.

The Honourable Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri, Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela and Honourable Minister of Tourism Konrad Mizzi, addressed the business communities. Her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca arrived at the Ukraine Chamber of Commerce and Industry following the signing of an agreement between the two Chambers for the creation of the Ukrainian-Maltese Business Council. Her Excellency, looked forward to see the endeavours of both business communities bear fruit during this UkrainianMaltese Business Forum and beyond.

A number of Business to Business (B2B) meetings were held, where MITA delegates met with representatives in the area of information technology and managed to explore the possibility of sharing knowledge in the area of blockchain considering use cases in education and tourist business. Possible cooperation related to Big Data and Artificial Intelligence was also discussed. The delegates from both countries also exchanged views in relation to the respective eGovernment and mServices programmes. Further visits between the two countries in the area of information technology are anticipated to be held.