“The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chamber and the FOI is no doubt a milestone which will strengthen the representation of the Maltese commercial sector – which is the motor of the economy, spearheading economic growth, jobs and investment on the island.”

The Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi expressed these thoughts during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Malta Federation of Industry setting the road map for an eventual merger of the two organisations in the near future. The Prime Minister said that this merger will render the unified body stronger and more effective with a stronger voice.

“These organisations have understood the crucial times our country is facing and they have taken on board the need for change.”

He added that government, together with the two organisations is also going through the necessary steps to ensure that all required legislative amendments would be enacted.

Addressing the media, the Chamber President, Mr Victor A. Galea started by saying that who could ever imagine that these two private sector organisations with such diverse interest until the recent past would be signing such an agreement.

“Intense discussions were held over the course of my two year Presidency. Sectoral interests needed to be addressed, tradition needed to be guarded: there was also reluctance to change which meant that compromise had to be sought,” he added.

Mr Galea also said that a new statute was drafted that will certainly strengthen and ensure that the qualities found in both organisations will be exploited to mutual advantage.

FOI President, Mr Martin Galea insisted that the FOI Council believes in this merger. “There are synergies that can be derived from the consolidation of resources thus bringing about a larger and stronger organisation enabling us to better serve member’s demands, particularly at the sector level, while giving the industrial and commercial sector a louder voice than ever before.”

The main points of the MoU include the mapping out of the next steps which need to be carried out over a period of six months. These include a due diligence process in both the financial and legal aspects of the organisations as well as the necessary approval of the membership base through Extraordinary General Meetings of both the Chamber and FOI.

Permalink: Chamber and FOI sign a Memorandum of Understanding