EIB President Werner Hoyer has visited Malta to discuss opportunities for future collaboration with Malta.

He was here yesterday for talks with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.

The EIB is the European Union's bank non-profit long-term lending institution, established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome.

Dr Hoyer’s visit to Malta was intended prior to the Annual Meeting of the EIB Board of Governors to the chaired by the Maltese Finance Minister in the coming days, as well as to visit ongoing projects supported by the EIB, and explore opportunities for further collaboration and investment between the EIB and the Maltese Government.

Among the locations toured by Dr Hoyer were the housing estate in Tarxien, the City Gate Project, and the Delimara power station.

Dr Hoyer also met Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, the Minister for Energy and Health Konrad Mizzi, Social Security minister Michael Farrugia, Bank of Valletta John Cassar White, and Malita Chairman Kenneth Farrugia.

The Minister for Finance said that during the visit, the two sides discussed various investment opportunities. These areas include social housing, which the government is determined to address in order to meet rising demand, Prof. Scicluna stressed.

Prof. Scicluna said that one of the projects that the Government is exploring with the EIB is an education pilot-project intended to address the skills mismatch between those available jobs and those seeking work.

Dr Michael Farrugia stressed that with regard to housing, the Government is looking towards regenerating older buildings owned both by the private sector and by the government, as opposed to building new units.

He added that the Government is also exploring ways, with the support of the EIB, to invest in energy efficiency in social housing units, in the interest of lower energy consumption and more a sustainable energy supply.