Prime Minister Robert Abela said that more children from Gaza will be brought to Malta for medical treatment in the coming days, as part of the non-lethal assistance the country is providing to address the conflict in the Middle-East.
Abela spoke on ONE radio in an interview on Friday, saying that Malta will not be participating in any lethal assistance to address both the Russian aggression on Ukraine as well as the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but instead has provided energy generators, and children from Gaza will be brought to the country for medical assistance.
Abela also said that the reason why the conflicts have been escalating is because the narrative of arming countries, and increasing defence spending to help Ukraine is being pushed.
“Our government does not believe in the strategy of stopping the wars by buying or borrowing money for lethal weapons. We are loyal to the neutrality which was born in us through Dom Mintoff,” Abela said.
He continued that Malta’s priorities have and will remain the same, and the country will not vary its priorities towards buying weapons, while reducing funding in the social sector, as other countries, such as the UK, will be doing.
Abela also spoke of the PN’s “lies” in saying that Malta is training its soldiers to fight foreign wars, and said that this “lie” is on par with the other “lie” the PN has pushed, that there were thousands of falsified identity cards.
He denied that Maltese soldiers will ever leave the island to fight someone elses’ wars, and said he is proud of the neutrality principle the country adopts, opting for peace and diplomacy to solve conflicts.
“I have said it a thousand times, and the PN will continue twisting what I have said. We will show our position in the coming weeks and months, as we will not be borrowing money to buy lethal weapons,” Abela said.
Ahead of next Sunday’s Freedom Day celebrations, Abela said that in this context, the relevance of the country’s neutrality is even more important, as 46 years ago, the country established the principle of neutrality and the importance of peace.
“Today, our country has the privilege of neutrality, meaning it can offer peace and diplomacy discussions. Neutrality is the basis of our economic prosperity, and we must continue to strengthen it,” Abela said.
He said that the only means by which conflicts can be resolved is by investing in peace and diplomacy.
“We need de-escalation of conflicts, otherwise the world will be lost in conflict and ugly phenomenon such as irregular immigration shooting up,” Abela said.
He invited everyone to join the Labour Party for the Freedom Day celebrations in Birgu on Sunday, to celebrate neutrality.
“Freedom Day defined Malta, free from foreign rule, which cherishes its independence,” Abela said.
Abela was also asked to reflect on the three years since his government was given its mandate in 2020, to which he said that government has managed to implement hundreds of reforms, such as the IVF reform, increases in pensions and social benefits, introducing skills passes for the hospitality sector, working with the private sector for healthcare, as well as other reforms on the construction sector, temping agencies, as well as a Labour Migration Policy.
He spoke of the 2050 document, which is a road map for what the government would like to see progress on in each sector in the country, serving as a plan irrespective of who is leading government that day.
Abela also said that the three years he has been in government were “extraordinary,” which included recovering from a pandemic, inflation, as well as two ongoing conflicts, which have impacted the world.
Government has implemented several initiatives which address these impacts, such as tax cuts, and other reforms which will carry on in the next two years of the legislature, Abela said.
He continued that the country’s deficit and debt are decreasing, which allows government to present such a strong Budget in October.
Abela also said that work is underway to transform the MFCC in Ta Qali into a bigger, more equipped convention facility, and said that government is also working on a high-scale facility to be able to hold the Sigma convention, which brings multi-millionaires to Malta, contributing to the economy.