With the beginning of 2015, our work towards achieving our 2015 goals is already in gear as well.

On assuming my watch as Gozo Minister twenty-two months ago, I knew full well what I was letting myself in for. It is no exaggeration to say that it was a moribund island that I inherited from my predecessor. Tourism was on the decline; direct foreign investment in Gozo was nil: job opportunities had long vanished and the flower of Gozitan youth was migrating to Malta and beyond.

The historic majority which swept Labour into power in March 2013 rightly expects this government to honour its pledge of placing Gozo first, to provide jobs for Gozitans in Gozo and to transform Gozo from a liability into an asset.

There was therefore a desperate need for short-term measures which could have an immediate impact to kick-start the island's small and fragile economy. Organised events such as Bethlehem in Gozo, travel-free weekends and reduced fares on Gozo Channel Company ferries made Gozo once more the preferred place of vacation for the Maltese tourist, be it for one day or longer. The total number of arrivals at all types of accommodation between January and October 2014 rose from 72,833 to 75,558, an increase of 2,725, and there were 291,590 bed nights, an increase of 12,810. The occupancy rate increased consistently in all the categories of collective accommodation with one exception, reaching 56.7 per cent, although compared to that of Malta, which is 66.1 per cent, Gozo is still lagging behind.

Apart from these and other short-term measures, the Gozo Ministry, both by itself and in liaison with our other Ministries, started preparations that would leave their mark in the medium and long term.

The initiatives have had the desired effect. Every year between 2008 and 2012 the Gozitan economy increased by almost one percentage point less than that of Malta. By contrast, during 2013 - the first year of this Labour government - economic growth in Gozo was higher than that in Malta: 4.8 per cent compared to the 4.6 per cent registered in Malta. This economic growth in the smaller island during 2013 was three times higher than that in the last full year of Nationalist administration. If one excludes the public sector, economic growth in Gozo was five times the level registered during 2012.

Official figures published by the National Office of Statistics measure a growth in the manufacture, agriculture, wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, informatics and communications, arts and recreation sectors. This has brought about a small diminution in the difference in per capita gross domestic product between Malta and Gozo. The year 2013 witnessed an increase of 313 jobs in Gozo, the highest increase since the year 2008. Correspondingly, unemployment has gone down.

During 2013 there were 783 unemployed people; currently, according to unofficial figures, the number of unemployed in Gozo has fallen to 752 and the indications are that unemployment figures will continue on a downward trend. In July 2014 there were 9,958 people in fulltime employment; an increase of 767 on the year 2012; a total of 2,108 had both a full-time and a part-time job, an increase of 174 and 2,379 had a part-time job as their only employment - an increase of 306. This adds up to an overall increase of 1,247 jobs.

There is much still to be done; Gozo is full of untapped potential, particularly in the services sector. Contrary to the state of limbo in which it had been left, Gozo now bears witness to a conscious, consistent and persistent effort to attract new investment in such sectors as informatics and health in parallel with the spurring of traditionally established sectors such as agriculture and the tourist industry. Crucially, preparations are ongoing for the laying of a second fibreoptic cable to link Gozo with Malta and the rest of the world. This is vital to attract high value added industries to Gozo.

Gozo has now emerged safely out of a dangerous situation. It is past a critical phase in which its own inhabitants had lost faith in its future. Whilst the ultimate goal set by my government has not as yet been achieved, it is comforting to know that at least Gozo is now definitely out of the woods.