The forthcoming meeting between the Prime Minister and Renzo Piano is a normal encounter between a client and an architect and there was nothing secretive about it, Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Dr Gonzi, who was being interviewed by The Malta Independent editor Stephen Calleja, said that during this meeting, which was to be held soon, he would see a more detailed plan.

The Prime Minister said he wanted to be able to boast of Valletta.

“My, your, capital city deserves a good entrance. We deserve to have a grander city. And this work will not just make Valletta grander but it will also create employment for our people.”

The Prime Minister said that the works at the entrance of the city would complement other works in Valletta which have been completed or which are in hand. These included St George’s Square, the restoration works near the National Library, the organisation of Pjazza Regina and the restoration of the Palace Facade.

“Our dream is for all offices to get out of Presidential Palace for this to be converted into a showcase of Maltese treasures.

“We have never accepted mediocrity,” he said.

Asked what he would have done different in the years of his premiership, Dr Gonzi said he would have timed the reforms better.

The explosion in the price of oil, he said, had not been forecast and it had badly affected the country. However, Malta managed to ride the wave and the country was now trying to transform that challenge into an opportunity.

He said that he always tried to take decisions according to what the country needed. His decisions, he said, had to permit the country to remain focused on employment. This was also a way of strengthening marriage.

Dr Gonzi said that during its 10-day conference, the Labour Party did not mention employment, workers, factories and competitiveness.

Labour, he said, still told his government that it had been wrong about the shipyards’ decision.

“They wanted us to remain losing €40 million a year,” he said.

Earlier, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said that there were factories from the pharmaceutical and other sectors in Malta which wanted to expand their operations and their investment would be announced in the coming days.