Malta needed to strengthen its institutions to ensure that businesses continued to invest in Malta, PN leader Adrian Delia said today during a familiarisation meeting with the board of managment of the Chamber of Commerce.
He referred to research published by EY yesterday on how foreign investors looked at Malta and said that while economic figures looked positive, those relating to political stability, corruption and confidence in the country were not. It was the responsibility of the Opposition to ensure that the country’s jurisdiction remained one which welcomed businesses.
Referring to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia last week, the PN leader said one could not ignore what had happened as this was affecting the country’s security, which directly affected business decisions.
He also spoke about the crisis in institutions and insisted that these had to be strengthened for businesses to feel comfortable doing business in Malta.
On the transport challenge, Dr Delia said the country should look at innovative systems such as electric and driverless cars, which could instigate a shared transport system.
On the education section, he said that while it was important to look at the human resources challenge, one also had to look at the needs of children in the coming years.
Chamber president Frank V. Farrugia said the chamber had unreservedly condemned the brutal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
It had joined the rest of the country in an appeal for a national concerted effort towards a timely and conclusive resolution for truth and integrity to forever prevail in the country.
He underlined to Dr Delia the apolitical status of the chamber, as its mission remained the promotion of the interest of the private sector.
“Within our apolitical status we take it upon ourselves to champion Malta’s quest for continuous improvement in competitiveness and economic prosperity.
However, we need to ensure that, like the Malta Chamber, all other stakeholders understand the value and importance of being competitive because it is not always clearly apparent that we are all on the same side on this account,” he said.