Investment with China to expand, new health plan being polished

Malta was seeking to expand its collaboration with China through investment in the services sector, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Moreover, Malta was looking to tap into opportunities with the United States and the Gulf Countries through state-to-state agreements.

Interviewed by PBS journalist Norma Saliba during a political activity in Luqa. Muscat said Malta would seek state-to-state agreements with countries such as the Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

“It’s a strategic plan to focus on these countries: Europe will remain our natural market but we cannot remain dependent on it. We have to widen our horizons,” he said.

Huge potential laid in the financial, maritime and aviation sectors among others, Muscat said, adding that Malta could find an opportunity as China planned to internationalise its currency.

Confirming that the deal with Shanghai Power Electric was on track, Muscat said the agreement would be finalised and concluded during the second half of this year. He said, that huge investment potential was in the pipeline for Malta.

“The Chinese will be investing heavily in the Mediterranean and Europe. They already have a number of power stations operating in the region and they plan on owning more. This will mean that the industry will be serviced by Maltese workers, in Malta.”

Muscat said this would not only create jobs for Enemalta workers – on a voluntary and not compulsory basis – but also for the Maltese who were interested in servicing China's power plants in Europe and the Mediterranean.

“Together with the Chinese, Malta will be investing in European countries in the renewable energy sector, providing Enemalta with a huge turnaround. We have managed to turn it from an albatross round the country’s neck to a profitable entity.”

14 months later and a Cabinet reshuffle, the health sector is now under a new minister and parliamentary secretary who are working on “a new public private partnership model” set to address the issue of bed shortage at the state hospital.

“We have an overarching inspiration to work with the private sector. The PPP model can take new forms beyond the ones we are used to. We are taking our time because we want the best possible model. We don’t afford to get it wrong.

“Health is a delicate issue… we don’t want to postpone the problem or sugarcoat it. We want an effective solution and I urge you to be patient.”

According to statistics released today by the National Statistics Office, the number of persons registering for work with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) increased by 294.

But according to Muscat, March was “traditionally” the month where an increase in the rate of unemployed is registered. He however argued that the increase was still “100 less” than that registered last year.

“Despite the criticism leveled by the Opposition, this is a government that created nine places of work for every person registering for work. Compared to the Nationalist administration, we have doubled the places of work.”

The Prime Minister argued that for the first time since 2005, the government registered more income than expenditure.

Muscat reiterated that the Labour Party was still the “underdog” for the European Parliament elections as “no government has ever won a majority”.

“I believe we will the majority of votes, but whatever the result, the people would have sent out its message to both the government and the Opposition. Simon Busuttil likes to tell his followers that, whatever the result, I will remain the Prime Minister… in reality he’s trying to reassure those who won’t be voting.”

Muscat today also lost his grandma, a person he described as “hardworking” and the woman who introduced politics to his life.

“She took me to my first mass meeting in Mellieha, later on becoming a standing joke that I am here today because of that event. She was very resolute in her socialist beliefs,” Muscat said, referring to how she used to give him Lm1 and telling him it was thanks to (former Labour prime minister) Dom Mintoff.