The Prime Minister’s tour of the Gulf has certainly proved to be a success, especially in rekindling international relations with states that have not heard much from Malta in the recent past, but still had fond memories of.

It was evident that everywhere that the Prime Minister went, he was afforded all the courtesy that could be mustered. But what was striking was that while Malta went to these states thinking that it would be an uphill struggle to forge closer ties, the Gulf States themselves thought of the recent history of the island as a common factor which kept us friends.

Another striking realisation that came out of this visit is that while Maltese people themselves feel as if they are ‘sort of’ European and while many continental Europeans see us as being on the fringe of Europe, people from the Gulf States see us as being thoroughly European.

It is quite strange, and it does reinforce the notion that everything in life is about perception. What is also pleasantly surprising is that on this visit, a Maltese trait which we bang on about so often, manifested itself quite plainly – and that is our Southern Mediterranean approach which makes dialogue (especially business dialogue) so much easier than normal.

It is a known fact that Northern and continental Europe sometimes struggles when it comes to dealing with such nations, yet we do not and this should prove to be an added bonus in doing business with them.

Without going into the specifics, there is a strong interest by the Gulf States to do business with Malta and the government has done well to read the signs and diversify its search for investment.

Over the past few years, the only word anyone heard was Dubai, when referring to Gulf investment. Yet on this trip, the government also visited and sold Malta as a business destination in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Kuwait. As we have mentioned, we are looked at very fondly by the rulers of these countries and there are some good opportunities for Malta in this regard, but simply going there for a meeting does not seal the deal.

We must now follow this up through Malta Enterprise which must build on the goodwill which was sown by President George Abela during his visit to the Gulf, and now by the Prime Minister.

Malta Enterprise must keep tabs on all contacts made there and the back office work of identifying companies that could service needs which investors may have.

All in all, this was a reminder that although Malta is a fully fledged EU member and a user of Europe’s common currency, we should never put all our eggs in one basket.

There are plenty of other markets and friends around the world that we must continue to do business with. It is in the national interest to ensure that Malta has as good relations as possible with any respectable state as it is only through friendship and direct contact that we can sow a seed which will eventually bear fruit.

As we have said, this is one such example. But there are other nations which are emerging over the horizon which the government would do well to ‘make friends’ with before they get too large and have more pressing priorities than Malta. These include a follow up visit to China as well as India and Brazil which are economies waiting to kick into top gear.