Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat would not be drawn into reacting to comments by former Labour Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, who this week urged Maltese businesses to return to Libya.

Dr Muscat said he would “maintain his position” that when it comes to Libya “the least said, the better”.

“I think that, due to the position of our country, we should be prudent. Throughout, we have always been prudent and we made sure not to turn this into a partisan issue,” he said.

“There are many things I could have said about comments by the Prime Minister or other people. But I will not do that because the national interest comes first.”

Dr Mifsud Bonnici told a press conference on Monday the western part of the country was safe and Maltese entrepreneurs should return to take over businesses abandoned by foreign nationals. He was speaking after returning from a visit to Libya.

Dr Muscat was asked about Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s comments after meeting the newly-elected executive council of the Malta Employers’ Association. He called on the MEA to remain critical, particularly of unjust working conditions.

Dr Muscat said he believed the state should lead by example and incentivise companies to treat workers better. He praised the MEA on a recent press statement warning about poor conditions. He called this “groundbreaking”.

“Our priority is private enterprise,” Dr Muscat said, adding that the country should cut red tape and interference in the case of small and medium enterprises because their efforts helped to improve the economy. He also spoke about the importance of engaging women in the labour market but this ought to be done out of their own choice and not merely to meet their financial demands.

MEA president Joshua Zammit said he appreciated the fact that the Labour Party was “on the same wavelength”. One of the association’s priorities was to ensure a level playing-field for business operators, where competition was fair, he said.