US to grant Malta $6.5 million to buy helicopters

Outgoing American Ambassador Anthony Gioia has announced that the United States will be granting Malta $6.5 million to buy American helicopters to help in the country's search and rescue operations.

Interviewed by The Sunday Times a day before he relinquished his post in Malta last Tuesday, Mr Gioia said that the US aid was the result of the trip to Malta in summer by Senator Ted Stevens (Republican, Alaska), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

He described the purchase of the helicopters as beneficial to both the US in its war on terrorism and search and rescue operations in Malta. Mr Gioia said that although US military aid to Malta was still suspended because of differences between the two countries over the International Criminal Court this was strictly speaking not military aid, but aid which fell under "search and rescue operations".

Mr Gioia also announced that the US is planning to build a new embassy in Malta, for which $87 million had been budgeted.

A man with a few regrets

The Sunday Times interviews Anthony Gioia, who left Malta last Tuesday after three and a half years as US Ambassador

Anthony Gioia believes that relations between Malta and the United States are "very good". In his three and a half years as Ambassador to Malta he says "everybody co-operated in the war on terrorism, including Government and Opposition. There is no neutrality when it comes to terrorism, and everybody has confirmed that.

"Malta is now a member of the EU and is therefore more important to the United States," he said.

Mr Gioia said that although the meeting between Malta's Foreign Minister (then John Dalli) and Secretary of State Colin Powell was an important highlight of his term in office, he would have very much liked to have seen a meeting between President Bush and the Prime Minister of Malta.

"I tried very hard but because of circumstances beyond our control and certainly due to no disrespect towards the Prime Minister, it was not possible. We almost had it locked up and then, with the Iraqi war looming, this stopped. However I am convinced this will happen when my successor takes over," he explained.

In spite of what everyone refers to as the good relations between the two countries, there is still no double taxation agreement between the US and Malta, and American military aid to Malta has been suspended due to differences over the International Criminal Court. How does Mr Gioia explain this?

"The double taxation issue is in the hands of the Treasury Department which has indicated that this is not an important issue for the United States. When the US had threatened to cancel this agreement we warned Malta on several occasions that the practices they were engaging in could jeopardise our double taxation treaty.

"When the treaty was cancelled Malta then changed the policy, but that was after what we say in the US 'the horse had left the barn', so it is very difficult to get this restarted. I have told the Maltese government that the best way for the situation to change is for US businesses to lobby the Treasury. If American businesses feel they are being hurt by the lack of a double taxation treaty, then that is the best way of getting the attention of the Treasury Department."

Regarding the suspension of military aid, he said: "With respect to article 98 (of the International Criminal Court) a lot of countries have signed this and if some other countries in the EU sign as well then Malta can also go along with that, and military aid will be restored. However, Malta has also received a fair amount of assistance from the US for its Customs Department, the Freeport Corporation, the police and its military."

Mr Gioia announced that the US is also planning to build a new embassy in Malta, "which although is not direct aid, will have a tremendous impact on the Maltese economy". The budget for that project, he says, is $87 million.

However, despite the military ban, Mr Gioia said that the US is about to provide Malta with $6.5 million to purchase American helicopters which technically is not regarded as military aid, but falls under the heading of "search and rescue".

"I am pleased to announce that three American helicopters will be coming to Malta to further help your search and rescue operations as part of a $6.5 million appropriation of aid that is being given to Malta - $3 million this year and $3.5 million next year. The Armed Forces of Malta are very happy with this - these are twin-engine helicopters which are much safer to fly over water. This will also help the US in the war on terrorism - this is a win-win situation and I'm glad it happened under my watch.

"This was really the result of the trip to Malta in summer by Senator Ted Stevens (Republican from Alaska) who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a good friend of mine. We worked hard over the last year to get this aid approved."

Mr Gioia admitted that the US Embassy was disappointed at the way Malta International Airport was privatised. "We were disappointed at the fact that the MIA privatisation process went in a different direction than we thought it would. We thought it should have been based on what we thought were the facts at the time. Obviously, the investment from the US consortium did not take place so that hurt US investment into Malta. We tried to let that be one individual event that we were not happy with and we made our views known, but it was time to go on."

He says that now that it has joined the EU, Malta has a much better opportunity of attracting US investment "because it will be looked at in the US as an investment into the EU and not just an investment into Malta, as Malta is a relatively small market for US investors."

He strongly believes that Malta's role in trying to attract investment from the US into Libya has not been fully exploited but there is certainly a lot of potential and Malta can play an important role in this regard.

"The real opportunity for Malta is with the Libya connection because a lot of US companies want to invest into Libya. This is where Malta has a real asset to sell to the US. Malta has very, very good contacts with the Libyans - on the commercial side they know who the real players are. I was a little disappointed to see that some of our companies were not as quick to grab this opportunity but more and more are realising that this is a good idea. Things now seem to be moving ahead and I am just sorry that I won't be here to see things materialise. This is a win-win situation where both US and Maltese companies benefit."

Furthermore, he points out, as the US invests more in Libya Malta will benefit from American families living here. "Malta is a great place to live in, you've got a great infrastructure, good schools, you speak English, all of which make Americans feel comfortable living here."

With respect to attracting American tourists Mr Gioia thinks this is a missed opportunity on Malta's part, "but perhaps you had other priorities".

He said he once told the Minister of Tourism that one way of attracting American tourists is to go to Naples and speak to the Sixth Fleet. "This is one good way of quickly getting American tourists who spend money. When a US military vessel comes into Malta, for example, the economic impact is felt. When the John F. Kennedy came the Maltese realised that such visits do have an enormous economic benefit. On the first night of the Kennedy's visit, the ATMs in Paceville were all wiped out of cash and over $12 million of economic benefit came into Malta."

Mr Gioia says the US market is huge but Malta can go for individual niches which do not cost a lot of money. "All the guests we have had from the US have told us how impressed they were with Malta's history, culture and heritage," he said, "so this should be exploited more."

Serving in Malta during the September 11, 2001 attacks "was a highly emotional experience, and I never went through anything like this", Mr Gioia recalled. "There was a feeling of great hurt but also of great pride in the way the US reacted to that situation. Seeing those firefighters go up those stairs really gave me pride in America. I was also very heartened by the warm response of the Maltese people, the government and opposition, the outpouring of sympathy and the showing of solidarity," adding that "it was a heck of a way to get started."

He gives a cautious response to my question about whether the second Bush administration will be any different from the first - perhaps it will be more internationalist?

"Only because it will have different events to deal with," he replied. "Obviously 9/11 shaped the first Bush administration, there's no question about that. There are now different opportunities in Mr Bush's second term. There is an opportunity for success in the Middle East, given the change of players on the Palestinian side.

"President Bush very much wants a settlement there. President Clinton tried very hard towards the end of his second term to get a settlement but it couldn't happen. I think that's when the US, on a non-partisan basis, lost patience with Yasser Arafat. Now the circumstances have changed and we are optimistic that a settlement in the Middle East will be a major accomplishment of the second term."

Mr Gioia has now returned to his home town of Buffalo, New York.

Any plans to serve the Bush administration in another capacity? "I am just happy to be able to return home and enjoy my grandchildren. Let's just see what happens," he said.