The Spanish-Maltese Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy of Spain in Malta and the Internationalisation Desk of the Malta Chamber organised an event entitled ‘Doing Business with Spain’.

The Chairman of the Internationalisation Committee at the Malta Chamber Peter Grima, welcomed participants on behalf of the Malta Chamber and noted with satisfaction that this was the second event organised jointly with the Spanish-Maltese Chamber. Mr Grima remarked that the Chamber has registered a strong interest in doing business with Spain in connection with the on-going internationalisation survey of Maltese business.

The President of the Spanish-Maltese Chamber of Commerce, Alfredo Muñoz Pérez stated that his is a young organisation established in 2009 but has organised several successful events with stakeholders such as the Embassy, Malta Enterprise and the Malta Chamber. This bilateral chamber serves as a networking platform. He stressed that while the crisis in Spain was severe, it has also created many business opportunities and has been an impetus for Spanish graduates to become entrepreneurs.

Commercial and Economic Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy Antonio Llanos gave an extensive presentation illustrating the size and importance of the Spanish economy which is the 13th largest in the world. He also went into great detail about the restructuring that has been taking place in the Spanish economy as a response to the economic crisis. Mr Llanos highlighted the sectors in which Spain is a world leader including green technology, transport, ICT, biotechnology and aerospace.  He also highlighted the great potential of Spain as a gateway to the many Spanish speaking markets in the world.

Ambassador Felipe de la Morena said that this year’s event was seen by the Embassy as a preparation for a business delegation to Spain later this year. Furthermore, he mentioned that the Embassy is planning an event next month related to renewable energy. The Ambassador spoke about the current economic situation in Spain as well as the current Spanish-Maltese economic relations. 

The event finished with a lively networking session with Spanish wine and jamón Serrano, sponsored by Attard & Co.