Malta can turn its small size into an advantage and become an early mover in medical innovation, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Ian Borg said at the opening of MedTech World Europe at Dar il-Mediterran in Valletta. He argued that closer collaboration between government, health professionals, academics and industry would let the country identify problems and develop solutions faster than larger states.

The two-day global summit brings together innovators, investors and healthcare leaders. Borg was welcomed by MedTech World chief executive and co-founder Dylan Attard, who said the event had grown into one of the industry’s fastest-expanding ecosystems, with a larger presence across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

Borg said Malta’s scale was not a barrier but a potential strength. The relationship between decision-makers, those who deliver care, academic institutions and industry, he said, created room to strike agreements, particularly around innovative products and services. “We can build on it to create collaborations, to create those agreements with industry, especially on innovative products and services and here, everyone has gathered under one roof, in a historic place linked to medicine and hospitals,” he said.

He added that the government was looking at a more structured programme of research, development and innovation in digital health, part of an ambition for Malta to help shape future health technologies rather than only adopt them.

Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects Minister Silvio Schembri pointed to Vision Malta 2050 and to companies the country has attracted. He named Vantive, which he described as the largest foreign direct investment Malta has brought in, alongside an expansion by Baxter, a firm already based on the island and a number of other companies. Among them, he said, were Maltese start-ups that begin from something small, keep growing and export abroad.

Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista, a medical doctor who sits within Borg’s office, said the technology on show would change how medicine is practised and how patients receive care in the years ahead. He called the event one of the most important conferences of its kind, a platform for technology in medicine that would completely alter how doctors work and how their patients are treated.