Last week's conference on Malta's attractiveness as an investment location attracted a great deal of interest as it helped to focus once more on an issue that should always be at the forefront of our attention.
It needs to be so because of the small size of our economy, its openness and our lack of natural resources.
For our economy to thrive, it requires a continual flow of investment that would eventually reflect itself in increased sales of goods and services beyond our shores and hence increased employment.
It does happen at times when there is such a flow of investment that the issue of Malta's attractiveness is put on the back burner, but eventually we would always need to divert our attention to the matter and never away from it.
My contribution last week focused on this issue as well as I sought to analyse the survey results that gave rise to the report. To my mind the key factor in this year's report is the human factor.
This is where we have invested most effort and money in the last 20 years and where we are reaping most benefits. What struck me at last week's conference was a statement by the Prime Minister that, when he was faced with a choice between reining in the fiscal deficit and investing further in education, he chose the investment in education.
Today the country as a whole is benefitting from that decision, as well as from the consistent emphasis that the government has given to this sector in its programme since 1987.
A part of the Ernst & Young conference also focused on the marketing of Malta as an investment location and on the need to create positive perceptions about the country. Joe Bannister and Alan Camilleri, chairmen of the Malta Financial Services Authority and Malta Enterprise respectively, gave very good presentations on this specific aspect. In fact we are doing most of what it takes to keep on marketing Malta as a hospitable location for investment and the results of the past years prove this as well.
However, there are two areas that I feel should be considered further in the marketing of Malta as an investment location. They may be interlinked but not necessarily so.
The first is the Maltese communities living abroad, notably in Australia, Canada, the US and the UK.
We should never forget that one of the successes of Ireland in the last years has been its ability to attract investment from Irish Americans. There are many Maltese out there who are very loyal to their mother country and would love to make a contribution if they had the chance. A number of them can influence investment decisions or are the decision makers themselves.
The decision of the government to allow them (within certain parameters) to have a Maltese passport in addition to the passport of their country of adoption, has provided them with a gateway to Europe.
However, we need to promote the message with these communities that Malta needs them and wants them.
They can still form part of our success, but we have to accept that they need a different treatment to other investors. This does not mean better tax incentives, but rather a warmer welcome.
The second area is the involvement of the private sector in the marketing of Malta as an investment location.
Traditionally, this has been seen as a function of the public sector that at times relies on support from the private sector.
The formula has worked well in the past; but is it time for a change? Today, many private sector organisations promote Malta to attract investment, both in the area of manufacturing, financial and other services.
They do this because they see an opportunity that can be exploited.
Moreover, the private sector in some areas knows which doors to knock on, more than the public sector does.
It is within this context that we should seriously consider whether the marketing of Malta as an investment location should take the form and substance of a public-private partnership. Admittedly, there are implications to consider thoroughly if we were to go down this route, as although the objectives of the private sector and the public sector may be the same, at times there could be different interests that come into play.
The benefit of such a partnership is that we would be increasing the amount of resources that we would be dedicating to this activity as a country, both in terms of time and of money.
The marketing messages that regions and countries around the world make use of to attract investment are very similar. Most countries have marketing budgets that are significantly higher than ours.
It is for this reason that we need to be different in what we do to attract investment.