The Commonwealth workshop on competitiveness strategies was opened yesterday with a speech by Marcel Pizzuto, permanent secretary at the Competitiveness and Communications Ministry.

He said that the government of Malta has developed structures to encourage competitiveness, with a particular focus on small business. He said: “During the past years Malta developed a number of strengths, including an increased computer literate population, an efficient and integrated financial services sector, low unemployment, and effective social inclusion. On the other hand, a comparative analysis with the EU25 member states reveals that there are areas where Malta needs to perform better. This aim of a better quality of life is in fact being tackled in the government’s programme of activity. Malta has chosen five strategic themes, which were approved by the EU, to form the pillars of its National Reform Programme on these themes (a) sustainability of public finances (b) promotion of competitiveness; (c) generation of employment (d) fostering of education and training; and (e) care for the environment.”

The participants were also addressed by Joe Cole, from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, who together with the Commonwealth Secretariat, supports the training Malta-Commonwealth Third Country programme. Mr Cole said Malta has taken a leading role in promoting the concept of competitiveness across Commonwealth countries, particularly by fostering the use of IT.

Professor Lino Briguglio, in his opening remarks, said that the Islands and Small States Institute was instrumental in developing a competitiveness strategy for Malta. He said that the participants, who hailed from various countries in the Pacific, Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean, as well as from mainland Africa, will stand to gain by sharing experiences and to learn from the institutional set-up in Malta, aimed at fostering competitiveness.

The workshop was organised by the Islands and Small States Institute and the Department of Economics of the University of Malta in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Malta is organising a training workshop on Competitiveness Strategies for Small States as part of the Malta-Commonwealth Third Country Training Programme. The Commonwealth countries participating include Barbados, Ghana, Grenada, Fiji, Jamaica, Mauritius, Maldives, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Tuvalu.

The course will continue until 16 June, and is being held at the Foundation for International Studies, St Paul Street, Valletta. The aim of the course is to disseminate knowledge and provide training on competitiveness strategies, covering a variety of themes with a focus on small states. Another objective of the workshop is to enable the participants to benefit from the sharing of ideas and experiences during discussions.