A recent statement by the PL leader to the outgoing ambassador of North Korea was extremely worrying because it justified the country's launching of a rocket which could lead to nuclear tests.

Interviewed by former UHM general secretary Gejtu Vella, Dr Gonzi said that Malta had always been on the right side of history and it was of utmost importance that it retained its good reputation abroad.

Dr Gonzi said he accepted the Opposition leader denial that he had told the ambassador that North Korea had a right to launch the missile.

However, a spokesman for the Opposition leader said Dr Muscat had told the ambassador that Labour respected the integrity of sovereign states.

This was worrying because it meant the opposition justified the launching of the rocket. It showed a lack of seriousness that could destroy a country's reputation. Such talk also put employment in danger, Dr Gonzi warned.

He Prime Minister spoke at length on education and said that the Nationalist government was successful because it constantly placed the people as the focal point of all its policies and this was what it would continue to do.

He reiterated initiatives his government was taking to create employment, including in the fields of aviation and gaming.

The Prime Minister said that the future of those who were still at school depended on initiatives taken now because missed opportunities would never return. Many could not go to university in the not so distant past because they did not have the 20 points required then to enter university.

Nowadays, Dr Gonzi said, children were being brought up in technology, which was their future. The government was investing where it mattered – in the new MCAST campus, the university, the upper and higher secondary.

The country also offered opportunities to those who did not reach a certain level of education and this was confirmed by pharmaceutical industries last week who said they had jobs for people who did not have a university education as long as they were willing to be trained.

The Prime Minister warned the people not to trust those who had given bad advice in the past – such as that Malta should not have become an EU member, as they would give bad advice yet again.

Dr Gonzi spoke on schemes the government could make available through the EU, such as the Microinvest, which encouraged small businesses to invest to improve their business and employ more people

Those taking up this scheme could save up to €25,000 over a four-year period. Such help was being offered because the government believed that small businesses were the backbone of the Maltese economy and a Nationalist government would continue to come up with incentives for their benefit.