Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella is back in Malta after undergoing minor cardiac surgery in China, where he fell ill during an official visit.

This was confirmed this morning by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during a short telephone interview on One Radio.

Dr Muscat said the 73-year-old foreign minister was in “good condition” and thanked the Chinese government for its assistance. He also thanked the Qatari government for making the necessary flight arrangements to return Dr Vella to Malta.

ECONOMY

Touching on the economy, the Prime Minister referred to a Eurobarometer survey published a few days ago from which it transpired that four out of every five Maltese people felt that the economy was doing well and they were better off even on a personal level.

“This is a very impressive figure” he said, while pointing out that this judgment was being given by the people themselves not politicians.

PENSIONS

Reacting to the call made yesterday by the Opposition for a faster introduction of the national minimum guaranteed pension to combat poverty, he said it was quite ironic that this recommendation was coming from the same party that had increased retirement age and social security contribution.

“We have a plan, based on economic principles and not political ones,” he said.

As for pensions’ sustainability concerns, the Prime Minister remarked that such concerns could not be taken seriously as these were being raised by the same party which had forecast a bailout. In reality government debt was coming down, Dr Muscat said.

GAS PRICES

The Prime Minister also referred to the reduction in the prices of gas cylinders, saying these had dropped to a four-year low. Dr Muscat said this reduction would positively impact on the catering and restaurant industry. Dr Muscat noted that fuel as well as gas prices were no longer an issue as the price was stable.