News | Wednesday, 25 November 2009

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Tonio Borg meets Russian foreign minister Lavrov

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tonio Borg held bilateral discussions yesterday in Moscow with Foreign Affairs Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov.
During discussions Borg gave an overview of Malta’s role in the European Union and the way the Maltese economy evolved in the last two decades.
Borg emphasised the need to strengthen further trade relations between Malta and Russia, emphasising the fact that there is a huge potential to increase investment from Russia, and to open new market opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Malta exports almost €2 million per year to Russia. Currently there are 307 companies registered under Russian ownership in Malta. Tourist arrivals from Russia in 2008 reached 23,412, which show an increase of almost 7,000 since 2005. Malta’s major exports to the Russian Federation are pharmaceutical and plastic related products.
Both sides agreed to further discuss the technical issues of the pending Agreement on avoidance of double taxation. The facilitation of visa issuance was also part of the discussions especially considering the fact that Russian tourists are increasingly showing interest to come to Malta for a holiday, as implied by Minister Lavrov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed Russia’s gratitude to Malta for its cooperation in resolving the case of the MV “Arctic Sea”, the cargo ship which went missing in the Atlantic this summer. “The problem was successfully resolved, and our productive and friendly cooperation contributed to this,” Lavrov told a news conference after the meeting.
During the visit, Borg was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cecilia Attard Pirotta and the Maltese Ambassador in Russia Charles Inguanez. As part of the official visit in Moscow, the Deputy Prime Minister officially inaugurated the Maltese Consulate in Russia at Donskaya Street, Moscow.
The visit by Borg is the first ministerial visit in Russia in the last 20 years.

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