The Federation of Industry has urged the government not to delay any further the introduction of measures outlined in a new industrial policy for Malta and which are deemed crucial to industry’s competitiveness.

The policy was published during the last quarter of 2006. The FOI sees it as an integrated policy document which was the result of an intensive consultation process in which the FOI played an active role. The comments were made by the FOI in a section of its annual review for 2006. In this publication, the FOI presents a snapshot of what happened in the economy over the review period, with an insert centred on the trends registered in the monthly FOI Industry Survey.

A brief overview of the main developments under the Mediterranean Trading and Innovation Centre (METIC) project was also portrayed in the publication. The METIC project, to which the FOI is a major partner, is a project between Malta and Sicily financed under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The aim is to promote collaboration between enterprises and academia operating across a range of focus sectors with strong development potential.

Among the other sections featured in the review are those outlining the FOI’s involvement at some international fora and cooperation agreements signed during the review period, as well as an overview of the main developments at the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) – the representative office in Brussels of the Malta Federation of Industry, The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. The FOI dedicates a section to solely outline the major initiatives that the FOI proactively introduced and implemented during the year under review. These include initiatives that are related to education; those facilitated through EU-funded projects; competitiveness-related initiatives and information to FOI members.