Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana (photo) announced that the Malta Public Service will be strengthening its internal structures with the creation of a new position: Chief AI Officer. This will be a highly important role through which all coordination of projects involving artificial intelligence within the public administration will take place, he said. An AI Governance Group will also be set up, consisting of members from different sectors.
Sultana also emphasised that artificial intelligence should not only be a tool but a "force multiplier" that helps the Public Service serve the country more efficiently. He expressed satisfaction with next year's National Budget, which will bring artificial intelligence closer to the entire population through free courses and subscriptions to AI services. He encouraged the officers present at the conference to mentor the young employees within the public service who, according to him, are "digital by birth", impatient for change and unafraid of technology. "To have a digital Government, we must not be satisfied with the status quo. We must leave a legacy because, as a public administration, we are ready to lead even in this field," Sultana said.
From his end, Emanuel Darmanin, MITA's Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the importance of the public sector and MITA continuing to strengthen their collaboration so that through increased use of digitalization, more value and efficiency can be added to service delivery for citizens and businesses. Already, as a country, we are achieving very positive results in European indices, and with more determined work together we can continue moving forward. In this way, apart from giving more value to our clients, we can make Malta's Public Administration a model of excellence in digitalization, not only at a European level, but also internationally.
MITA organized the conference "Digital Government" to focus on crucial themes such as interoperability, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of public administration. The conference featured contributions from local and international experts as well as representatives of the European Commission.
Claudia Oliveira from the European Commission explained how the Interoperable Europe initiative is facilitating more connected and efficient governance across Member States.
Jonathan Cassar, Chief Information Security Officer at MITA, described the challenges and best practices related to cyber resilience, while Dr Josianne Cutajar, former Member of the European Parliament, discussed the AI regulatory framework and the opportunities it creates within the public sector.
During the panel discussion, titled "Data and AI: The Future of Government", participants shared experiences and perspectives on how data and AI can be strategically used to improve public services and strengthen intelligent governance.
After the plenary session, delegates participated in several technical workshops. These covered key areas including cybersecurity, data and interoperability, and cloud technologies. The workshops provided practical knowledge on addressing supply chain risks, the technological priorities of European public administrations, and global trends in the use of AI in the public sector.
The conference strengthened collaboration between public entities, encouraged innovative ideas, and reinforced Malta's vision as a country committed to being at the forefront of digital transformation and intelligent governance.