“Being a small island state Malta has a lot to offer in the area of sustainable development, in view of its small size and various development pressures. Two areas which stand out are solid waste management and water resource management”, said Finance Minister Edward Scicluna at the High-Level Conference on Financing for Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Doha, Qatar on 18 and 19 November 2017.

PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE

Minister Scicluna gave an address during the Ministerial Round Tables about Malta’s efforts and policy innovations aimed at implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Minister Scicluna said that Malta’s unprecedented economic growth, attained partly through structural reforms, was successful in increasing the female workforce participation in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Minister Scicluna spoke of Malta’s participation in international efforts through its Official Development Assistance policy, mainly Malta’s co-financing of 12 projects in Africa, Asia, and South America in the fields of health, education, water, and gender equality.

On the margins of the conference, Minister Scicluna met with Minister for Finance of Qatar Ali Shareef Al Emadi and they discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries. He also had a bilateral meeting with Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Liu Zhenmin. The Minister updated the Under-Secretary-General on Malta’s commitments in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals contained in Agenda 2030 and their financing. In the discussions, a special reference was made to EU investment in the MENA region and the G20 Compact with Africa initiative, both of which can have a positive impact both on development and migration.

Saturday 18th November 2017