US ambassador steps down

US ambassador Anthony Gioia will step down after three years in Malta and the 63-year-old former businessman is expected to leave his post soon.

The Buffalo News on Thursday reported that Mr Gioia had submitted his letter of resignation to President George W. Bush.

"It has been a great pleasure to have served you and the American people these three-plus years," Mr Gioia said in his letter to Mr Bush. "Thank you for allowing me to have the experience of a lifetime."

His assignment, he said, helped cement US-Malta relations during a time of crisis following the terrorist attacks of 2001 and during military action in Iraq, especially since the Mediterranean island served as a host to visiting navy ships.

"This is not Moscow in the 1960s or 1970s but we're in a tough neighbourhood," he said.

The Buffalo News reported that the ambassador was pleased about the state of relations with Malta, which he said proved an important regional ally for American interests.

Mr Gioia said he was encouraged about Malta's role in facilitating new business opportunities with nearby Libya following improvement in the US-Libya relations.

A major Republican fund-raiser, Mr Gioia had hosted a reception for former President George Bush senior at his home in Buffalo, New York state, that raised $500,000 for his son's presidential campaign in 2000, the Buffalo News said.

It said he was a member of Mr Bush's national finance committee during the 2000 campaign but has been out of politics since his 2001 appointment as ambassador.

The Buffalo News said Mr Gioia expected to rejoin his Gioia management firm, but he and his wife, Donna - former chairman of the Buffalo Zoo's board of directors - had no firm plans.

He did not expect, however, to take any new post in the Bush administration.

"We're going to take it slow and see what happens. We've done our thing, and now it's time to come home," the Gioias said.