Malta shall retain commitment to Med.

Malta's Mediterranean partners have fully understood that European Union membership would not take anything away from Malta's commitment to the region, Foreign Minister Joe Borg said yesterday.

Speaking at the 10th Ambassadors' Conference at the Westin Dragonara, Dr Borg said that throughout last year, Malta was engaged in open discussion with its close Mediterranean partners, as well as countries with which the island had good bilateral relations.

"All these countries have understood that Malta's membership of the EU does not signify less commitment in a concerted drive to improve common interests such as peace and stability in the Mediterranean.

"On the contrary, these interests will have a louder voice once Malta becomes a member of the Union," Dr Borg said.

Eighteen bilateral and 21 multilateral agreements were signed or ratified last year and Malta was among the countries which ratified the International Criminal Court's statute.

Twelve new honorary consuls were appointed and a new embassy was opened in Copenhagen.

This, Dr Borg said, had taken place at a time when negotiations with the EU were in an intensive phase.

He insisted that Malta had negotiated a series of special arrangements or transitional periods that took into consideration the island's particular needs.

Dr Borg heaped praise on the ambassadors' work and said that Malta could expect further business, educational and cultural trips.

He said that despite the difficult international scenario caused by terrorist attacks, 2002 had been a busy year on the diplomatic front.

Dr Borg promised that the country would continue to offer its resources in the fight against terrorism.