It is November 10, 2016. Donald Trump, the new US President, is laying the foundation stone of his “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall”, which will shut the door on Mexico.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May announces the triggering of the infamous Clause 50, which brings to an end the hope that there might be a change of heart on Brexit.

Austria elects a far-right Chancellor as polls suggest that right-wing movements are strengthening their position in Italy, France and Germany.

This is how the world might look in two months’ time.

Would anyone be blamed for thinking that some of the most developed of world economies are slamming doors? Let’s face it, freedom of movement is going through challenging times. In such a scenario, Malta should be making a stronger case to keep its doors open to attract the world’s best and most ambitious talent.

Our small but thriving country, known to punch above its weight, can only benefit from a more global workforce at a time when unemployment has reached a record low. The services industry, which constitutes more than 70 per cent of our GDP, is dependent on the right skills and talent.

As trans-regional trade agreements become more elusive (such as the apparently failed TTIP negotiations between the EU and US), the most successful economic centres in the world are not only opening their national doors, but also widening them.

According the The Monocle, in 2015, Berlin added 46,000 expatriates to its population (our 700 naturalised foreigners through the Individual Investment Programme pales to insignificance) and attracted more venture capital than London for the first time.

Across the Atlantic, Toronto started the aggressive Global Startup strategy and set up a walk-in service where entrepreneurs can get business advice and financing options, including the facilitation of initiatives such as the Start-Up Visa, “which grants permanent residency to foreign entrepreneurs”.

Addressing the skills gap and further infrastructure development are critical in the medium term

There are other examples of nimble centres focused on attracting the best academics, entrepreneurs and new ideas. Clearly, the demand is there and the talent concerned knows it is in a buyers’ market. The global workforce is looking for places to work and invest in a business-friendly ecosystem to come up with the next big idea. Not necessarily the next Silicon Valley but essentially innovative concepts within the digital economy sphere.

I am not limiting the digital economy to ICT and online gaming but including digital media, e-commerce, software development, application testing and e-health, among other sectors. The advances in technology in the health sector, for example, are breathtaking.

For example, through the MoU signed between Huawei Technologies and the Maltese government, a joint innovation centre is being developed, so through a technologically advanced and cutting edge digital platform, a number of applications can be developed under the Safe/Smart City concept.

The case for open doors has never been as relevant and ready for the taking as today. It is good for Malta to stay on the lookout and provide the right environment for anyone who wants to develop new and innovative concepts. Equally important, however, is to persuade other countries not to pull down their shutters.

Our country has seen impressive economic growth in these last three years. With fewer than 4,000 people on our unemployment register, one of the major hurdles for our businesses is to find enough local talent, particularly in the digital economy space.

The ‘skills gap’ is a real challenge for our economic development in the digital economy for the medium to long term. What is happening in the online gaming industry is a real case in point, where two-thirds of the workforce is predominantly foreign. There is nothing wrong in that, as I believe that having foreign workers and executives operating in our economy has a strong spillover effect in terms of talent development, learning and new approaches to doing business.

The digital economy contributed €1 billion (14 per cent of Malta’s gross value added) to the whole Maltese economy in 2015. This year it is expected to grow by approximately seven per cent. Our country is truly becoming cosmopolitan, open to business, innovation and different cultures.

Having said that, if the digital economy is to maintain this pace of growth or exceed it, addressing the skills gap and further infrastructure development are critical in the medium term.

That is why Malta needs to steadily keep upgrading its product, infrastructure and integrated ecosystem, so we provide the right climate for entrepreneurs, irrespective of their country of origin, to innovate and invest here. We also need to make sure that Malta remains a safe and stable country, a breeding ground for the best and brightest talent to set-up shop.

This is not a case of making money. It is a case of a country wanting to grow even further, to invest in the best talent and add value which is not always monetary. It is time to show the whole world that Malta is opening its doors for people to bring fresh and new ideas.

Joseph Cuschieri is executive chairman of the Malta Gaming Authority.

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