UK Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday encouraged Maltese businesses to prepare for the exciting opportunities that would result from the “opening up” of Libya and other North African countries.
“This is one of the rays of hope in a difficult world economy,” he said, adding that though the UK was still advising against all but essential travel to Libya, due to continued fighting, things might take off very quickly.
He explained that the no-fly zone had to be retained until the Libyan National Transitional Council felt it was safe to lift and that the Libyan government was understandably still being very cautious when it came to issuing visas. But both issues were being dealt with to ensure the reconstruction of Libya could begin as soon as possible.
Mr Hague was speaking at an informal business gathering organised by the British Business Forum at the Phoenicia Hotel, after holding meetings with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Foreign Minister Tonio Borg. He was on a short stopover in Malta before travelling on to Libya.
He told the business delegation that the UK would focus on areas such as infrastructure, healthcare, oil and gas, education, telecoms and financial services – all of which offered potential for “overlap” with Malta. He said businesses should take full advantage of the opportunities that would arise once the rich country stabilises.
Earlier, after his meeting with Dr Borg, Mr Hague told the press how grateful his government was for Malta’s assistance throughout the Libyan crisis, particularly when it came to evacuation of British civilians.
Asked whether this gratitude would be translated into better cooperation on issues like illegal immigration, Mr Hague said it would be translated in many ways.
“We will not take large numbers of migrants but we can offer practical help to get to the root of the problem and help Malta deal with its difficult situation,” he said, adding that the new Libyan authorities could also help.
Speaking about the excellent historic diplomatic relations between the two countries, Mr Hague said the opening of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt would mean the scope of cooperation between Malta and the UK would also grow.
When questioned, Mr Hague said the UK was also willing to discuss ways of helping Malta with providing healthcare to Libyans injured in the conflict but no specifics had yet been discussed.
During the press conference a British journalist asked Dr Borg how he felt about Mr Hague’s recent remark that being in the eurozone was like being in a burning building with no exits.
Dr Borg laughed off the matter, saying that small countries like Malta always found exits. On a serious note, however, he said that despite its previously strong currency, being in the eurozone gave Malta a measure of protection without which it could have been affected in a worse manner.
Mr Hague said Malta and the UK had a common interest in improving the economic situation, even though the UK was not part of the eurozone.
After meeting his counterpart at the Foreign Ministry, Mr Hague met Dr Gonzi at Castille where most of the discussion was held behind closed doors, after some small talk in the presence of the press.
Dr Gonzi told Mr Hague that in the past legislature he was both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, which he joked was “the closest thing to being a dictator”. They also spoke about the fact that they shared an almost identical grandfather clock in their offices.
Mr Hague reiterated his gratitude to Malta, which the British people would “never forget” and spoke about the UK’s determination to continue to strengthen the excellent relations with Malta.
He also underlined his optimism for the region and expressed hope that the conflict would soon come to an end.