Malta is an “oasis of hope, economic growth and prosperity in a difficult neighbourhood, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.
Dr Muscat was speaking at the St Gallen Symposium at the St Gallen University in Switzerland. Keynote speakers included Swiss Vice-President Johann Schneider Ammann, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson, Delaware Governor Jack Markell, and Singapore Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The discussion focused on small island states.
Dr Muscat said the concept of small states usually translates into big-ocean states. “The potential of oceans is still largely untapped. The greatness or smallness depends on the ideas and on the neighbours,” he said. Dr Muscat noted that the European Commission’s Economic Forecast has predicted that Malta will be the country with the highest GPD in 2015. “What really drives our economy is our neighbours, so we are in a difficult neighbourhood. In our north there is economic strife, in the south there is human tragedy. We are an oasis of hope, economic growth and prosperity. Our economic future depends on how we manage our neighbours and how we position ourselves to be alternatives to them.”
On the subject of inequality, Dr Muscat said there needs to be a prerequisite for this issue to be addressed. That prerequisite is economic growth which translates into a just distribution of wealth. Flexibility is also another way to address inequality. “Malta offers stipends to students, free healthcare and free childcare – these are all addressing inequality.
The Icelandic Prime Minister spoke about the issue of migration and how small states like Malta are facing difficulties. He noted that Iceland has a vessel taking part in the ongoing Frontex mission. The Tyr has been involved in a number of search and rescue missions in the past few weeks and days.
Dr Muscat also touched on the migration issue and said that, despite its limited military resources, Malta is dedicating all of its assets to saving lives. “I get three, four or five calls every night with information that another rickety boat packed with people is in difficulty. “Iceland was, until a few weeks ago, the only country that was helping. For a time it was only us, Italy and Iceland.” Dr Muscat will be taking part in a second workshop later in during the day.
Neil Camilleri is reporting from Switzerland