Malta's strong business relations with the Arab world were repeatedly underlined during a business breakfast Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had with Czech businessmen yesterday.
The island, he said, had done business with the Arab world for years and there was a good level of trust between them and Maltese businessmen, which did not happen overnight.
Malta had a double taxation agreement with Libya, which was expected to be renewed in the coming weeks. The island had similar agreements with other countries around the world.
At the end of a two-day visit to Prague, before heading to Brussels for the European Council summit, Dr Gonzi outlined his government's targets to turn the island into a centre of excellence in seven sectors by 2015.
During a meeting with Dr Gonzi on Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said there was still room for vast improvement in the business sector between the two countries.
Speaking at the Corinthia Towers Hotel, a Maltese investment in the Czech Republic, Dr Gonzi said Malta's proximity to the African continent and the Arab states made it an interesting investment proposition for Czech businessmen.
"It is an economy that needs to explore and exploit the opportunities around us out of necessity," he said.
He said the island's detachment from the rest of Europe spurred it to invest in high value manufacturing and technology in a bid to overcome geographical disadvantages.
Moreover, the country managed to attract some big foreign investors to its shores, including Campers and Nicholsons, which has just moved its headquarters from London to Malta.
Dr Gonzi highlighted the Maltese people's good command of English and said different governments had invested a lot in the education of the younger generation, realising that human resources were the island's strongest asset.
He also mentioned the island's growing gross domestic product despite the turbulent international scenario, which he described as a challenging time.
But although Malta had registered a 2.2 per cent increase in its GDP in the third quarter of the year, one could not be complacent, Dr Gonzi warned.