Malta, China sign agreement on film cooperation

Foreign Affairs Minister says Malta willing to further bilateral relations between Malta and China in fields of mutual benefit 

George Vella with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Li
George Vella with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Li

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella has signed an agreement on cooperation in the film industry between Malta and China.

During a visit to Beijing, Vella told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Malta is willing to further bilateral relations in fields of mutual benefit. In a statement, the government said that Yi fully fully reciprocated Vella’s intentions to broaden the span of avenues of cooperation between the two countries and to continue exchanging views on regional and international matters.

The planned agreement on film cooperation was revealed in March, when Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis announced the shooting of ‘Sonata’, the first Chinese film to be shot in Malta.

During their meeting, Vella and Yi expressed satisfaction at the excellent long-standing relations between the two countries. They also noted the frequency of official visits between the two countries as well as the consistent pattern of concluding important bilateral agreements in a range of sectorial fields, from infrastructural matters, sport and intellectual property.  

The two ministers referred to the importance of closer EU-China relations and recalled the EU-China summit held in June 2015. In this respect, Vella briefed Wang Yi about the preparations underway in relation to Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union which will commence in 2017.