Business mission to Japan: Follow-up and way forward

Following the first Maltese business mission to Japan last July, a follow-up session with the participants of the mission was organised by Trade Malta at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion.

The session was chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela, the CEO of Trade Malta Anton Buttigieg and the Non-Resident Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to Japan André Spiteri. More than 30 people that were part of the business mission to Japan attended the session.

The aim of the session was for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion to listen to the comments and feedback of the participants of the business mission. Among those present, there were representatives of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Trade Malta and the Malta-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Transport Malta.

Overall, the business mission to Japan received positive comments from those present but also their recommendations to make future missions more fruitful in terms of logistics and planning. With such feedback, both the Ministry and Trade Malta will be taking measures to improve future trade missions and to have a better feel of the needs of the business sector.

Also important were the comments and interventions on barriers of trade and suggestions for more effective trade promotion. Issues of double taxation and cultural awareness were also raised, which shows the importance of the mission of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion to support the business community when reaching out to countries such as Japan.