Malta’s aspirations to become a centre for health and energy services will strengthen the country’s vocation to serve as a bridge between Europe and the southern shores of the Mediterranean, the Prime Minister said yeserday.

Speaking at the foot of the Freedom Day monument in Vittoriosa, Joseph Muscat said Malta had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to develop its vocation into a concrete opportunity.

Dr Muscat lighting the flame.

The Labour Party celebrated the 36th anniversary of Freedom Day with a short ceremony, characteristically held in a cold wind at the foot of the Freedom Monument.

Dr Muscat said the Mediterranean shores were characterised by turmoil and uncertainty.

“The whole Mediterranean is fluid, with violence and tension in the south and economic problems in the North,” he said.

He recalled how Dom Mintoff stressed in 1972 that there could be no European security without security in the Mediterranean. Never as much as today had those “visionary words” rung true.

He said it was significant that European Council President Tusk started his tour of Mediterranean countries in Malta, the centre of the region. At the end of the ceremony Dr Muscat lit the freedom torch and placed flowers on the monument, accompanied by his wife, Michelle.