SPEECH BY THE HON. DR. JOE BORG, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DURING THE MALTA-COMMONWEALTH THIRD COUNTRY PROGRAMME: "5th INSURANCE MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMME"

Dear Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure, both on behalf of the Government and in my personal capacity, to welcome you all to Malta and to this training programme. It is with great satisfaction that I participate in this opening session of the Fifth Insurance Management Training Course which is being organised once again within the framework of the Malta-Commonwealth Third Country Programme.

This co-operation scheme, instituted between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta and the Commonwealth Secretariat way back in 1995, recognises the changing role of Malta within this organisation. From a pure recipient of technical assistance Malta is slowly moving into a position where it is gradually becoming a promoter of technical co-operation; while still benefiting from the Commonwealth Third Country Programme in areas such as Management and Information Technology.

As a small island state, with hardly any natural resources, Malta has, over its long history, learnt to make the best possible use of its abundant human resources. In fact, over the past few years, Malta has taken advantage of the existence of this most important primary asset, to develop a number of centres of excellence in various important areas, such as banking and insurance, maritime law, communications technology and port management.

The existence of these centres of excellence has made it possible for the Government of Malta, with the collaboration of the Commonwealth Secretariat, to organise several successful training programmes. Foremost amongst these is the programme on Trade Promotion and Export Development organised by the Malta External Trade Corporation and the programme on Information Technology and Diplomacy organised by the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies.

Thanks to the confidence shown by many Commonwealth countries and the Commonwealth Secretariat, the number of programmes organised every year in Malta has over the last five years increased from two to six. Last year a new programme on Banking and Finance in Small States was organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta. And hopefully once again this year, the same Institute will launch another new programme on Competitive Strategies for Small States.

Your participation in this training course here today will hopefully contribute not only to the development of your career, but also, more importantly, it will enable you to contribute to the development of the insurance sector in your own societies once you get back home. This is one of the major aims of these courses: namely, the transfer of skills from one country to another. The existent limited financial and human resources in many small Commonwealth countries, coupled with the availability of know-how in other Commonwealth countries, makes it possible for substantial benefits to be derived from enhanced co-operation between us.

Malta's relationship with the Commonwealth is not solely restricted to the organisation of such training courses. Currently, Malta is playing an important role within the Commonwealth through its participation in the High Level Review Group, which was set up two years ago by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in South Africa. Its aim is to review the role of the Commonwealth, and to advise it on how best to respond to the challenges of the new century.

Malta identified the bridging of the Digital Divide as a major challenge of the 21st century, and has proposed collaborative action so that the difference amongst Commonwealth Member States in this area may be reduced as far as possible. This proposal has received a favourable response from the other members of the High Level Review Group who provided expert inputs and recommendations to this process. At the next CHOGM meeting in Brisbane, a practical programme of action is expected to be approved for the necessary activities to be undertaken in an attempt to tackle this ever more pressing problem.

At a time when communicating is so easy through the use of digital telephony, e-mail and the internet, there is hardly any limit to what can be achieved in the area of development through well organised programmes of collaboration. These ultra modern methods of communication have, however, not made the classroom redundant. Personal contact between teachers and students, and between instructor and apprentice, still forms the backbone of human resources development programmes in all sectors. The use of modern methods of communication has created new possibilities, but the creation of a personal relationship between trainer and trainee remains a key element in programmes, such as the one which you are starting today.

That is why so many of you have travelled thousands of miles to reach this venue. The success of the previous editions of this course has been based on the successful working relations created by the lecturers taking part in this course and their students. I have no doubt that the current course will be just as successful.

Through the organisation of training courses within the Commonwealth Third Country Programme, the Government of Malta feels it is doing something practical to promote development in counties where such development is most directly needed. I sincerely hope that the training course we are inaugurating today will be one more milestone in Malta's programme of assistance to developing countries.

I wish you every success in your training; and a pleasant stay in Malta.