Malta to increase technical help to developing countries

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday told the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg that Malta was planning to build its capacity to assist in overseas development.

The plan, he said, entailed the formulation of a National Development Cooperation Policy backed by a Secretariat for International Development.

Malta would increase its technical assistance to developing countries, particularly on governance, and the participation of Maltese nationals in overseas development projects would be enhanced.

"The plan reinforces Malta's long tradition of solidarity," he said.

Dr Gonzi gave an overview of the steps and measures Malta had taken in the area of sustainable development.

He said the country had played a pivotal role in the United Nations, alerting the international community to its obligation to protect the patrimony of common resources.

He also outlined some of the "significant steps" that Malta had taken to safeguard its natural environment and historical heritage since the Rio summit.

In the coming months, he continued, a newly set up national commission would make recommendations to its chairman, the prime minister, for a National Strategy for Sustainable Development.

"The experience of this summit will be instrumental in its preparation."

He said the commission had identified four projects as Malta's national progression targets for the next five to 10 years, envisaging urgent action on the rehabilitation of Valletta, coastal zone management, transport and waste management.

But Malta's most important step towards sustainability had been the decision to join the EU, he said.

"Government sees the harmonisation of our environmental policy and legal framework with that of the Union as one of the major benefits of accession. EU enlargement will contribute to more sustainable patterns of growth throughout the region."