€350 million invested by factories, enterprises in past year - PM

Factories and other enterprises invested €350 million in the past 12 months to create more jobs for Maltese and Gozitans in competitive sectors, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Speaking during one of three workshops of the Nationalist Party’s general council, the Prime Minister said that Malta Enterprise had doubled its assistance to Maltese enterprises and factories to continue investing and creating employment.

He said that although Malta was a small and vulnerable island, it continued to progress during difficult times for the international economy. Forbes had even described Malta as the best European country to invest in and the fifth best in the world.

Referring to Vision 2015, he said that his party’s vision had become the people’s. Work on this vision was now progressing well and the country had to look further.

The employment sector, he said, could continue to progress if education continued to be strengthened. He emphasised that the government’s policy was for education to remain free and available to all.

The council will be closed by Dr Gonzi tomorrow morning.