Cover picture: Minister Schembri viewing works on EXPO 2025 Malta Pavilion

Minister for the Economy, Enterprise, and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri, accompanied by the Ambassador of the Republic of Malta, André Spiteri and representatives from Malta Enterprise and INDIS Malta, recently travelled to Japan with the objective of fostering stronger ties between the two countries. In Tokyo, Minister Schembri met with the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Economy, Trade, and Industry Shinji Takeuchi to discuss enhancing bilateral economic relations, with an emphasis on the digital sector. High-level discussions were also held with the Malta-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group, chaired by the former Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Yasutoshi Nishimura. During the discussion, which was also attended by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hisayuki Fujii, the participants underlined the achievements made in 60 years of Malta-Japan diplomatic ties, emphasising mutual respect, shared values and common maritime heritage. While in Tokyo, Minister Schembri also held meetings with several important business stakeholders, including the Japan Business Federation, the Japan External Trade Organization and the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment to explore avenues for enhancing economic relations between Malta and Japan. In Osaka, the Minister engaged with the Kansai Economic Federation and reviewed the construction of the Malta Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, which will be an important opportunity for many Maltese stakeholders to showcase their expertise in a variety of sectors.
The Minister also visited the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce where the two sides agreed to work together to deepen collaboration between Malta and this city, which is an important economic hub of Japan.

Source: Embassy of the Republic of Malta to Japan

Picture: Meeting between Minister Schembri and Parliamentary Vice Minister METI Takeuchi