The government will be in a position to give "very good news" in the coming days, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening.
Without giving any more details, he said negotiations were under way as he spoke.
Dr Muscat was speaking during a party activity in Luqa.
He said the government had created nine jobs for every person on the unemployment register over the past year. While admitting that this was not enough, he said efforts were under way to create more jobs.
Asked about bank interest rates, Dr Muscat said that while the government could not control them, efforts were being made to better utilise funds from the European Investment Bank, not only for projects such as social housing but also to lend funds to entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
Addressing the issue of tampered smart meters, Dr Muscat said those who had missed the window of opportunity the government had given them would soon hear from Enemalta so criminal action could start against them.
He said the agreement signed with Shanghai Electric was "on track" and the government was looking into other sectors in which Malta and the Chinese company could collaborate. He mentioned, as an example, solar and wind energy and the joint production of equipment for which Malta would get a share.
He said no Enemalta worker will lose his job and none of them would be forced to work abroad. "They will only be seconded with the Chinese if they want. And if we do not find enough people to service other European power stations the Chinese will be managing, we will employ more Maltese to do the job," he said.
Turning to the health sector,Dr Muscat said the government was working on private-public agreements such as the one announced last week to address MRI waiting lists but which would address other aspects in the health sector. "We will have something more concrete in the coming weeks," he said.
Asked whether Labour was really the underdog in the upcoming elections, Dr Muscat replied in the affirmative, adding that no government ever managed to win the majority of votes in the European Parliament elections and there were just four across Europe which could do so.
"I am confident we will reach our target of getting the majority of votes in this election," he said.