An international call for offshore wind turbines and solar panels is being issued, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Friday.

Parliament will also have a debate next week to identify the exclusive economic zones outside territorial waters on which Malta would have jurisdiction.

Speaking during a meeting with prospective candidates for the first Youth Advisory Forum, Abela said public calls for the generation of renewable energy from these zones would be issued.

The aim behind this investment is for the country to diversify its energy sources, have cleaner air and meet the European Union targets on clean energy.

This call will run parallel to a second interconnector that the country intends to build as well as the cooperation agreement with Libya on a renewable energy interconnector.

The development of wind turbines off the coast has been on and off the agendas of all recent administrations for at least two decades since the dawn of a looming global warming threat began to hit the world.

Over the years, all political parties pledged research and feasibility studies into what would be a massive project.