Technology was helping small countries like Malta make their mark, with geographical location less important than ever before, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told an audience in Shanghai.
Small countries had the advantage of being able to innovate at a faster rate and it was no wonder that Malta’s economy was nowadays being driven forward by technology and innovation, Dr Muscat said.
Dr Muscat was speaking at a Commerce and Innovation Forum held as part of an international expo in China.
As Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Alibaba entrepreneur Jack Ma listened in, Dr Muscat made an appeal against protectionist trade policies, calling them “totally opposed” to innovation and technological progress.
More and more countries, he noted, were becoming aware that they needed to create regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies.
Dr Muscat’s speech came less than one week after a regulatory framework for blockchain technology came into force in Malta – the first such framework across the world.
The Prime Minister also touched upon the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence and argued that policymakers had to start planning for education systems of the future, when machines would be capable of undertaking many of the tasks humans currently did for work.
Most arguments against AI, Dr Muscat said, were driven by fear and echoed similar concerns about free trade and open borders.
The challenge presented by AI, he added, was not something for any one corporation, country or even continent. Rather, it required a global regulatory framework.
I am always proud to be #Maltese, but days like today are special. Witnessing first hand visionaries like @AlibabaGroup Jack Ma jotting down notes, applauding and congratulating Prime Minister @JosephMuscat_JM shows #Malta is getting its innovation strategy right. pic.twitter.com/CiGKfObCQc
— Kurt Farrugia (@KurtFarrugia) November 5, 2018
Earlier, Dr Muscat paid a visit to a China-based Maltese company which facilitates investment between the two countries.
Base Malta offers consultancy services to Maltese and Chinese investors and acts as an interlocutor to companies from both countries looking to invest in the other.
Dr Muscat congratulated company boss Noel Gauci as he inaugurated Base Malta’s new offices in Shanghai.
Representatives of Chinese companies looking to set up shop in Malta, including one which manufactures drones and another which makes beauty products out of Chinese aromatic herbs, were also present for the inauguration.
Dr Muscat unveils Base Malta's new offices. Photo: DOI/Jason Borg