A three-day international workshop on economic vulnerability and resilience building of small states is being organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in Gozo.

It is being held in collaboration with the Islands and Small States Institute and the Economics Department of the University of Malta.

Experts from the Caribbean, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean region, as well as representatives of UNDP, UNCTAD, UNDESA and other international organisations will also be participating.

The workshop will be focusing on the economic vulnerability of small states arising from the fact that small state economies, to a large extent, are shaped by forces outside the state's control. The issue of economy resilience-building will also be discussed to enable small states to cope or withstand economic vulnerability with discussions on how small states have taken steps to strengthen their resilience will be taking place.

The vulnerability indices produced so far, including those developed by Professor Lino Briguglio of the University of Malta, indicate that small island developing States, as a group tend to be more economically vulnerable than the groups of countries.

The work carried out by the Economics Department at university also indicates that many small states, such as Singapore, Malta, Cyprus, Mauritius and Barbados, have a relatively high GDP per capita, when compared to the developing world indicating that these have taken measures to strengthen their resilience against economic vulnerability.

The workshop which will also include talks on methods of measuring and creating indices for economic vulnerability and resilience will be taking place at the University Gozo centre from March 1.