10 by 10

Leo Brincat, Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and IT, has just returned from a visit to the Gulf States by a Maltese parliamentary delegation. Here he comments on the various economic opportunities these countries offer.

The name of the game is definitely 'economic diplomacy'. Gone are the days when diplomatic relations were limited to the niceties of political contacts between governments.

Our relations with the Gulf Co-Operation Council member states should be no exception, since they - and particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait - offer opportunities for Maltese investors and entrepreneurs.

We need a more dynamic and business-like approach to the whole area.

In this connection, I think that the Maltese consulate in Dubai is doing quite a good job, particularly in terms of networking.

In our discussions with the Saudi Transport Minister I made it a point to promote our shipyards as best as I could. Since a number of ship owners in Saudi Arabia are known to use shipyards in the Gulf, I suggested that one could focus on 'niche' players, particularly those with a special interest in North Africa and Southern Europe.

I also mentioned that one could consider using our heavy engineering facilities in the Mediterranean as back-up for their shipping industry. At the same time I highlighted the fact that we specialise in repairs of rigs and other support vessels while being well equipped to build support barges and underlined our technical skills regarding both the repairs and servicing of mega yachts.

While we were in Riyadh the Saudi parliament ratified the so called General Agreement with Malta, which should pave the way for a double taxation agreement, among other accords.

Other colleagues were quick to point out, in our meetings, the potential of English language schools and facilities in Malta for Gulf students, the number of foreign banks and information technology companies already registered on the island, our Freeport facilities together with our growing fund management industry and recent legislation on trade marks and other forms of intellectual property, besides the trust law enacted last year.

Some people may be under the impression that because of the low profile women play in Saudi society they are being denied the opportunities which the country offers. They are mistaken. The majority of university students in Saudi Arabia are women while we were told that there are more women in business than men!

We could learn a trick or two from these countries, also in the way we handle such important components of the tourist trade - for example, taxi services.

While in Malta we continue to grapple with the rip-offs in this sector, in both Saudi Arabia and Dubai we discovered that one is entitled to a free taxi ride should the taxi one uses not have a functioning taxi meter!

There seems to be an eagerness in the Gulf states for more personal contacts between commercial and economic delegations from our countries.

Requests for such exchanges should be followed up more vigorously and with a stronger sense of purpose.

Construction possibilities for Maltese consortia were mooted by both the Saudis and Kuwaitis during our discussions and also mentioned by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

Our economies are not competing with those of the countries involved but they should be seen as being complementary.

If well exploited all this could turn into a win-win situation for both Malta and the Gulf states.

We were briefed of the efforts by the Saudis to enhance their competitive edge by aiming to become one of the world's top ten most competitive countries by 2010. It is from here that the slogan '10 by 10' originated.

Nowadays, one can even set up shop in Saudi Arabia without the need for a Saudi partner.

Whenever we mentioned the possible areas of co-operation between our country and theirs, the GCC member states always emphasised the importance of shortlisting and prioritising those areas where we could co-operate together in a tangible manner.

This is the stuff from which effective synergies can be made and achieved.

In banking I see much potential for introducing Islamic banking on the island which conforms with Sharia law. This could be an attraction for Arab investors.

There was more than a receptive ear when the Saudis were told how they could co-finance a university in Malta that teaches Islamic law, inter-cultural studies, as well as Arabic as a business language and IT-related subjects.

Although the number of universities in the Kingdom is mushrooming, they still do not have sufficient absorptive capacity to cope with the demands of their young and ever growing student population.

The agreement for reciprocal promotion and protection of investments should be an added boon to prospective investment between the two countries.

One cannot continue to think in terms of the loans and grants which Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi had extended to us when our state of economic development was less advanced.

One needs to be at once creative and innovative in promoting and pushing new ideas forward.

I was particularly struck by our meeting with SAGIA - the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.

For them increased competitiveness has become a goal in itself. No wonder that they have set up a state-of-the-art National Competitiveness Centre, benchmarking their performance against no fewer than 300 indicators according to World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Economic Forum criteria.

Their objective is to outperform the Hong Kongs and Singapores in the coming years.

Their increased reliance on logistic services as well as the manner in which Riyadh has been turned into the first e-City of the Kingdom shows that collaboration in these areas could be exploited too.

Forget the handouts. Their message was loud and clear: "If you have a nice story to tell and what you are proposing could be of mutual benefit, we are interested in hearing and acting upon your proposals..."

As for tourism, if Gulf country citizens bother to go all the way to New Zealand there is no reason why we should not attract them to our shores if we market ourselves professionally, particularly given the unrest currently prevailing in Lebanon - one of their favourite holiday resorts.

While we were in Saudi Arabia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was visiting a number of Arab states. From the composition of her delegation - which consisted of leading businessmen - and the economic fora she attended, one could easily tell where the emphasis lay - on mixing politics with economics. This without forgetting the educational and cultural exchanges that could and should also follow.

Mr Brincat is a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs of the House of Representatives.

leo.brincat@gov.mt