Ambassador Godwin Montanaro inaugurates opening of honorary consulate of Malta in Ukraine
Kyiv, November 7, 2012. The Honorary Consulate of Malta in Ukraine has been officially opened in Kyiv. The Ambassador of Malta to Poland and Ukraine (resident in Warsaw) H.E. Mr. Godwin Montanaro, and recently appointed Honorary Consul Mr. Pavlo Grechkivsky, took part in the opening ceremony. In the opening speech, the Ambassador of Malta, Godwin Montanaro said: "It is a great honor for me to be invited to the wonderful city of Kyiv to officially open the Consulate of Malta. The Maltese Embassy in Warsaw will work closely with the Honorary Consul in order to advance economic and trade relations between Malta and Ukraine. Monitoring business opportunities and aiming for successful conclusions remain a top priority." "Malta will continue to rely on the expertise and advice of Mr. Pavlo Grechkivsky in the fostering and developing of commercial and cultural links between the two countries," the ambassador said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony today. Ambassador Montanaro assured Mr. Grechkivsky that he would receive Malta's full support and cooperation to achieve his objectives. In his address, the Honorary Consul, Mr. Pavlo Grechkivsky stated: "I highly appreciate our partnership with the Embassy. It is convenient and productive cooperation. As a representative of Malta in Ukraine, I have ambitious plans. I hope to organize a Ukrainian business mission to Malta, a Festival of Maltese culture in Ukraine and many other events and activities that will foster Malta-Ukraine bilateral cooperation." Republic of Malta is catholic country located on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. The country gained independence from the British Empire in 1964, and in 2004 joined the EU. The number of tourists in Malta is almost three times larger than the country’s population: every year more than one million tourists visit the Mediterranean island. In addition to recreational tourism, the island offers its visitors medical and religious tourism. Given that English is one of its two official languages, the country is also known for its summer language schools. Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Malta were established in 1992. Malta and Ukraine cooperate in such areas as: tourism, healthcare, maritime and financial services, information technology and education. The milestone in bilateral cooperation was the visit of the President of Malta Mr Edward Fenech-Adami to Ukraine in July of 2008. As the result of the visit two bilateral documents on cooperation were signed, namely Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Organized Crime and Agreement on Cooperation in the Tourism Sector. Contact: Ivan Grechkivsky, Assistant to the Honorary Consul of Malta in Ukraine, E-mail: ivan@malta.in.ua; URL: www.malta.in.ua Tel: +38 044 234-02-77 or +38 044 235-51-52.