Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did some heavy marketing for Malta’s citizenship scheme in New York yesterday, saying the island was not after people’s money but their talent.
“Malta wants your talent, not your money, your networks, not your accounts,” he told delegates at the Henley & Partners Global Citizenship Seminar.
“Does it mean that we do not have talent? Of course we have. From John Pace, who cast America’s Liberty Bell, to John Zarb, former chairman of Nasdaq.
“From Edward de Bono, innovative creator of the methodology of lateral thinking, to Johann de Bono of Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research.
“From tenor Joseph Calleja, currently headlining at the Metropolitan here in New York, to Arvid Pardo, remembered at the United Nations as the father of the Law of the Sea,” he said.
Those who applied for citizenship would endure tight due diligence and scrutiny and get selected to join the exclusive and limited pool of Maltese citizens and “be part of our future”, he said.
Successful applicants would become part of a country that had registered the highest economic growth in the European Union in the first two quarters this year, had the third lowest unemployment rate in Europe and was recording some of the highest job creation rates in the region. “That is why the Individual Investor Programme is a unique international success. That is why we are inviting you to be part of it.”
Dr Muscat boasted that Malta was managing to attract foreign direct investors to operate from the island in areas as diverse as life sciences, aviation services, international logistics, regional telecommunications, education and training.
“We are not just patiently and passively waiting for such investment. We are putting our money where our mouth is by investing in the constant upgrading of our infrastructure, itself another opportunity for investors, and proactively targeting the right sort of investors.”
Malta, he said, had one of the more competitive remote gaming frameworks and was working hard to upgrade its tourism product through innovation.
“Malta has decided to move forward with a brave approach to citizenship. That is why we came out with the groundbreaking Individual Investor Programme, the only citizenship by investment programme sanctioned by the European Commission. I will just tell you what we are after. It can be explained in one word. And no, it is not money. It is talent,” he said.
Following this event, Dr Muscat proceeded to lay a wreath at Ground Zero in remembrance of September 11 victims on the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed thousands of lives. Dr Muscat also visited the 9/11 memorial museum.