Malta has presented its new budget for the year 2025, announcing investments into digital identity, a new central data repository and an updated AI strategy that will feed into the country’s newly launched economic strategy Vision Malta 2050.
As part of its 2025 budget, the country is issuing a tender for a digital identity wallet next year, Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects, announced last week. The digital ID app will allow users to access government services through a single app.
The government is also planning to cut bureaucracy with a central data repository, allowing data sharing across government agencies through secure electronic wallets. The wallets will rely on AI, optical character recognition (OCR) and blockchain technology.
The system will eventually extend to private sector due diligence such as banks and notaries, The Times of Malta reports.
“No other European country currently offers such a system, making Malta at the forefront in compliance and digital efficiency,” says Minister Schembri.
Slated for mid-2025 is also an updated AI strategy that will be aligned with Vision 2050, he added.
The Vision Malta 2050 strategy was officially launched in late October. It plans to boost the Mediterranean island’s development in a range of sectors while tackling challenges such as climate change, technology upgrades, and demographic changes. The model will prioritize digital innovation, infrastructure, education, healthcare, sustainability and employment.
The government has presented the 25-year economic plan just as it faces scrutiny over an illegal identity card racket, linked to government agency Identità which has been accused of taking bribes to allow ineligible individuals to acquire Maltese IDs. After an investigation was launched in August, the country’s Chamber of Commerce said that the scandal is part of a “complete breakdown” in the country’s government, which it accused of “gross mismanagement.”
Vision Malta 2050 will be defined by the end of the first quarter of next year, including outlining key milestones to be achieved by 2035. The project is led by the Office of the Prime Minister and overseen by the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects which will be in charge of the project’s Steering Committee (SteerCo).
Committee member and Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana noted during the launch that public service will have an important role in the plan, not just in managing daily tasks but also in leading the transformation of the country.
“We must continue embracing new technologies to create a Public Service that serves a modern society,” says Sultana.
Article Topics
digital ID | digital identity | digital wallets | government services | identity management | Malta | tender
