Federation of Industry president Martin Galea led FOI representatives on a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at which the importance of the manufacturing industry was given high priority, the FOI said.

The FOI officials stressed that although this industry was often looked at as a declining segment, statistics disproved this with approximately 20 per cent of GDP directly contributed by this industry, which also generated ancillary value-added activities in various areas. The president highlighted the fact that Malta-based industry has undergone a number of shocks in recent years, including the dismantling of import levies for those catering for the domestic market.

With reference to the industrial strategy document

commissioned by the government last year, Mr Galea reconfirmed the federation’s commitment to the implementation of this strategy’s recommendations and urged the government to ensure that the document was translated into an action plan in the short term.

Another issue discussed during the meeting was the situation at the ports and the overdue reform in that sector. Both sides agreed that this situation needed to be unblocked and that all the parties had a responsibility to ensure that Malta’s competitiveness was not jeopardised by the excessively high port charges.