NEWS | Wednesday, 09 January 2008

Chamber, FOI sign MOU for eventual merger within six months’ time

Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Gonzi hailed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise (COCE) and the Malta Federation of Industry (FOI) as “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 PM expressed these thoughts during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two employers’ organisations at the Auberge de Castille on Friday, setting the road map for an eventual merger in the near future.
Gonzi 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, Chamber President 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.
Victor A. 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.
On his part, FOI President 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.”