18 - 24 November 1999

'EU bid changed French perception of Malta' - President of Maltese-French Chamber

by Franco Aloisio

Joining the EU would help change France's perception of Malta, according to Gabriella Ellul Vincenti, the President of the Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce, who was interviewed by The Malta Business Weekly on the 10th anniversary of the setting up of the Chamber. "The most important benefit of EU membership for Malta vis-à-vis French businesses is the changed perception of Malta. Malta is still associated with the Maghreb countries, some of which were colonies of France," said Ms Ellul Vincenti.

Ms Ellul Vincenti explained that the Maltese still find difficulties in doing business with French businessmen because of the language barrier. Moreover, the French are very formal in their approach. "However, once a relationship with a French company is started, this will be a long-lasting one," she said.

Another issue which needs to be addressed is that of travel arrangements with France, she said. There are no daily flights to Paris, and this creates logistical problems for Maltese and French businessmen.

In order to create more awareness of the strong commercial ties between the two countries, the Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce will be organising a conference on 24 November. Various issues will be discussed such as the way business is done with French companies.

Ms Ellul Vincenti also pointed out that France is Malta's main trading partner. She quoted official figures provided by the French Embassy which show that France leads the way in exports from Malta. This is mainly because of the huge export potential of ST Microelectronics to its mother company in France. In 1998, the total value of exports was Lm146m, an increase of Lm26m over 1997. The amount of re-exports amounted to Lm1.2m.

With regards to imports, France is the second on the list with a total of Lm184m, or Lm21m more than 1997.

"These figures indicate that France and Malta have excellent business relationships, which need to be exploited to the full," said Ms Ellul Vincenti.