OPENING ADDRESS BY THE HON JOHN DALLI, MINISTER OF FINANCE, AT THE WORKSHOP ON BANKING AND FINANCE ORGANISED BY THE FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, ISLANDS AND SMALL STATES INSTITUTE

It was with pleasure that I accepted the invitation to inaugurate this workshop on Banking and Finance in Small States. The topic is very timely indeed. At the domestic level, Malta is passing through an important stage in its financial sector, involving liberalisation and the strengthening of the institutional framework, while at the international level, financial deregulation and financial integration have taken centre stage.

A cursory look at the programme of this workshop shows that it will cover a variety of themes ranging from International banking, Monetary Policy, Financial Regulation and Deregulation and Management Aspects of Banking and Finance. I note that most lecturers are Maltese. This shows the capacity of our country to generate such a high level of expertise – notwithstanding the fact that the islands are very small state, with a small population pool from which to draw experts and specialists.

I am very aware of the special constraints faced by small countries – but I am at the same time also cognisant of the successes of many small states. It is well known that these states tend to perform rather well economically and that – as a group - they register a relatively high GDP per capita when compared to larger developing countries. So the fact that a country is small should not lead policy makers and authorities of small states to assume that smallness means backwardness. 

Malta has shown that economic development is possible in spite of small economic size. The Maltese islands face limitations due to a small domestic market, a very high degree of economic openness, high dependence on strategic imports, notable fuel, and constraints regarding effective domestic competition. Yet, the islands have succeeded in generating sufficient income to secure a decent standard of living for the inhabitants. With suitable legislative frameworks, and with the progressive liberalisation of the various sectors of the economy, including banking and finance, the Maltese Economy can continue to develop and permit even higher living standards.

In the past years, Malta has managed to develop the structure and the infrastructure of a financial sector that can operate at a high level. We have emphasised transparency, fair-play and high degree of supervision. We have also sustained a policy not to be overpowered by success by opening our centre to all and sundry, but maintained a fine filter through which all applications are processed.

I note that this workshop is being organised by the Islands and Small States Institute, which enjoys a high international profile in small states studies. This is not the first time I am inaugurating an activity of the Institute and I am glad to note that economic and financial aspects are high on the agenda of the Institute.

You may be aware that the Institute was instrumental in placing the issue of economic vulnerability on the international agenda, and this had ushered in a number of studies on this issue, leading to a fully fledged Commonwealth Secretariat study.

I wish to thank the Commonwealth Secretariat for supporting this workshop – a very useful venture intended to disseminate knowledge on banking and finance. There are other training programmes under the auspices of the Malta Commonwealth Third Country Programme permitting many Commonwealth nationals to visit these islands and to train themselves in a number of areas, including insurance management, International relations, IT strategies, export trade and maritime affairs. 

These initiatives are partially funded by the Maltese government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is one of the organising partners of this workshop. It is with great satisfaction that I note that Malta's share in providing funds for the Commonwealth Secretariat, small as these funds may be, are being translated into such fruitful events.

I hope that you will have an enjoyable stay here in Malta. I know that most of you have travelled from far off regions, including the Pacific, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the African continent. Malta is not a tropical island, so you will not find the lush vegetation and the extensive beaches often found in the tropics, but we can offer hospitality, a varied cultural heritage, and most of all a first hand experience of what a small state, with very limited natural resources, can attain in terms of social and economic development.

I wish you success in your deliberations, and I look forward to receiving the documentation and the final report of the workshop. 

I now declare this workshop open.