On Egrant, I agree with Simon Busuttil – Jason Azzopardi
● Azzopardi like Sherlock Holmes; except he finds more questions than answers – Zammit Lewis
Following the declaration of former PN leader and current MP Simon Busuttil in Parliament earlier this week, wherein Busuttil said that he and thousands of others believed that the company Egrant belongs to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, fellow PN MP Jason Azzopardi has joined the chorus, stating his agreement with Busuttil’s statement whilst speaking on the newly-rebranded and revamped Indepth.
Asked by The Malta Independent Editor in Chief Rachel Attard about Busuttil’s declaration in parliament and whether he agreed with what was said, Azzopardi replied in the affirmative, saying that in the context of the conclusion, the magistrate “did not exclude that the
financial services, blockchain, and furthering our technological reach.
“The way we reinvent ourselves every now and then is based on our innovative instinct. We should push one another to be more innovative in the way we think and act, and this comes about with education.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri echoed Muscat as he also stated that after blockchain “the next priority is AI, quantum technology, space mining, big data and the internet of things.”
Schembri said the government has a vision of making Malta a powerhouse of economic innovation. “To get there we have to empower creative thinking, encourage future generations to take risks, to explore where the development of an idea might take them, provide the ideal tools and education while making sure to keep on helping businesses and start-ups. This is what we have been doing and what we intend to keep on doing.”
He explained the recent initiatives taken over the past few months that are paving the way for technological innovation, the enactment of 3 Bills that offer a holistic regulatory framework for blockchain and DLT technology, which will be put into effect on the 1st of November , the MITA New Emerging Technologies lab through an investment of €250,000, and the financial aid given to start-ups through the MITA YouStartIt accelerator program.
Schembri added that as soon as the Acts come into effect, attention can be turned to other new sectors which have significant innovation potential such as artificial intelligence, space mining, big data, internet of things and quantum technology.
With regard to quantum technology, Schembri said that Malta is perfectly positioned to pioneer in the market in quantum technologies as these emerging technologies provide superfast computers for developing new materials, and ultra-secure communication systems.
During the Malta Innovation Summit, Schembri visited the Vodafone stand for the launch of Narrowband IoT, the next generation of internet of things in Malta aimed at pushing the boundaries of connectivity even further, meaning that a device will be able to maintain a strong uninterrupted connection whilst conserving battery. This is suited to monitoring devices such as water meters, which have a tendency to turn up in difficult locations with poor network coverage.
During the visit, Vodafone Malta also showcased a robot which demonstrated the effect reduced latency has on real world applications.
One of the main improvements of 5G over current-day mobile technology will be reduced latency.
Over 400 delegates attended the second edition of the Malta Innovation Summit, which brought together international and local innovators to discuss, learn and share best practices within their organisations and operations.