Malta plans embassies in Lisbon, New Delhi

Malta is to open an embassy in Lisbon and a High Commission in New Delhi, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo announced in Parliament yesterday. It also intends having diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv and Ramallah.

He said Malta's presence in the Portuguese capital was important in the context of EU and Mediterranean policies while India, a member of the Commonwealth with a huge English-language speaking population, had growing importance in global trade and investment.

Speaking during the budget debate, Dr Frendo also announced that the United States has agreed to take people granted refugee status in Malta under a repatriation programme.

Speaking in reply to opposition remarks earlier in the debate, Dr Frendo said he agreed on the importance of having an open debate on the future in Europe. Such a debate should be held on the basis of a national conference, possibly as early as the first quarter of next year. Speakers would be able to pronounce themselves not just as politicians but also as citizens of Europe.

He said that although The Times had not attached much importance to it, his recent meeting with European Commissioner Franco Frattini had covered three very important issues: EU financial perspectives over the next 10 years, job creation in terms of the Lisbon Agenda and EU assistance to states affected by illegal immigration.

With regard to illegal immigration, Malta had been persistent, consistent and successful in drawing attention to this issue in the EU.

Commissioner Frattini was now talking of joint patrols, something never broached before, specifically on Malta's request. The creation by the EU of the €20 million Emergency Fund was another result of Malta's efforts.

The issue of illegal immigration had also been pursued in bilateral meetings within and beyond the EU. As a result, the United States had agreed to resettle a number of refugees from Malta in an annual resettlement programme.

The road was certainly uphill, but Malta was showing the way even to the rest of the EU with its acquired credibility, because it spoke of problems as they really were.

Dr Frendo said international crime needed to be fought relentlessly because it was a prime mover of illegal immigration. The EU must make it clear to transit countries in receipt of EU aid and they must stick to the Cotoniou Agreement to take back illegal immigrants crossing over from their borders or shores.

Malta would continue to contribute to the international observation of democratic processes in troubled countries, but those countries must keep their share of the bargain. It was now being joined by other countries which had initially been skeptical of what Malta was saying at international fora. Very tellingly, time had proved Malta right after its raising of the issue in September to the British EU presidency.

Malta's own agenda was that Europe should not do the Nero act by ignoring the problem of illegal immigration. Europe's credibility lay on the line in this regard.

Malta was garnering support on this issue because it was proposing direction. When the US, the Netherlands and other countries, understood Malta's problems, they agreed to give assistance. Still, one could not raise expectations.

Malta also had to continue working with its special friend Libya. Malta wanted more dynamism from this relationship.

It understood Libya's problem of having a large coastal area but the country had only a few ports from which the migrants were leaving.

There were countries which had reached repatriation agreements and it was in the interest of countries such as Libya to reach such agreements involving not just their citizens but all migrants who crossed their borders or shores.

In this way, those who organised such activities would realise that doors were being closed to them and all countries were united in their fight against illegal migration.

Dr Frendo said that trade between Malta and Libya was ongoing. The Maltese were investing in Libya, they were trusted and he had no doubt that relations would continue to grow.

Malta, the minister said, looked at illegal migration in a holistic manner. The Libyan Foreign Affairs Minister described the 5+5 meeting in Malta as the best he had ever attended. And it was at this 5+5 meeting that Malta and Libya drew up a joint paper on how to look at immigration issues.

It was this idea which was now being reflected in Morocco's and Spain's proposal for a summit on illegal migration between Europe and Africa.

Malta would insist on solutions including development solutions. It was pleased that the EU was moving to offer greater assistance for Africa's development. For it was only by curbing poverty that illegal immigration could be stopped.

Turning to foreign policy aims, Dr Frendo said the ministry had drafted a 20-point document on Malta's foreign policy aims and initiatives. This would be discussed in Cabinet and he also hoped to discuss it behind closed doors with the opposition so that Malta could have as wide a consensus on Malta's foreign policy objectives as possible.

These aims included making the best of Malta's geopolitical position to maximise political and economic benefits; making a success of EU membership; contributing to the building of an EU which gave added value to its member states and its people; and strengthening relations with EU and non-EU states.

Next year the process would start for the opening of a High Commission in New Delhi in view of India's plans to diversify its business to the EU. Malta would thus seek to exploit its position as a member of the EU, as well as its ideal position for trade with North African countries.

An embassy would also be opened in Lisbon because of that country's importance in the context of Malta's European and Mediterranean policies.

Dr Frendo reiterated Malta's commitment to promote peace and stability in the Middle East and he had underlined Malta's views in his visits to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This was not to say that Malta alone could turn things around, but to make it clear that Malta still believed in states living peacefully side by side and rising to become a significant economic power in the region.

Middle East problems could only be solved by people because they had been created by people. President Abbas was making superhuman efforts that Malta believed in. Certainly Malta condemned recent comments calling for the annihilation of Israel.

Malta would remain active at the UN in favour of the inalienable right of the Palestinians to their own state. Malta was highly credible in that area of the UN's efforts, and its relevance in the matter would continue to come in good stead even with regard to the roadmap for peace.

In 2006 Malta would be starting the process to have diplomatic representation in both Tel Aviv and Ramallah, while continuing to work towards peaceful settlement. This would also help Malta to more trade with both the Palestinians and Israel. Maltese entrepreneurs would do well to participate as fully as possible even in EU projects involving the Middle East.

Dr Frendo said he had never ceased to impress on Maltese diplomats the need to use their budgets and expertise not only for the promotion of political relations but also for trade. The results could be seen in several areas, such as the double taxation agreement signed with Spain.

In spite of the hubbub on the appointment of a female ambassador to Paris, 30 French entrepreneurs had decided to invest in Malta.

Another main objective of his ministry was to work within the Commonwealth in favour of development.

The ministry was working on ways how Malta could best address the issues of globalisation. It was also seeking to improve links with Maltese emigrants and their new home countries. Canada, for example, offered major trade opportunities which Malta should engage.

The government also wanted to promote Maltese culture internationally and Malta as a centre of excellence for dialogue and study.

At the same time Malta would continue to work with other countries in the fight against international terrorism and extremism. One way of fighting extremism was by fighting poverty. For poverty strengthened extremism.

Referring to a question by Labour MP Leo Brincat, the minister said Malta was still looking at a US request for a ship boarding and was studying the possible implications on the Maltese shipping register and the issue of sovereignty. But Malta wanted to take part in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. (Such an agreement would allow US officials to search Malta flagged ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, or their components.)

Nationalist MP Mario de Marco said that foreign policy was not foreign at all because it had a direct bearing on the political, economic and social life of the country.

He pointed out that this was the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Med Barcelona process where Malta had always taken a leading role. Indeed, Malta's link with this process was older, since it was the country which had insisted on the inclusion of the Mediterranean Chapter in the Helsinki process.

The Barcelona process was based on political, economic and social/cultural pillars and involved all European countries and all Arab countries, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Unfortunately not enough progress had been made in the political dimension of the process. Clearly, headway would remain difficult until the issue of a sovereign Palestinian state remained. This was a matter which affected the whole Mediterranean region which, in turn, affected European stability.

Malta was rightly following a policy of equal engagement, rather than equi-distance in the Israeli-Palestinian issue because it recognised the right of both the Palestinians and the Israelis to live in sovereign states within secure and peaceful borders free of the threat of terrorism.

Thus, while backing the Palestinian Authority, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo this year had also visited Israel to explain Malta's policies of equal engagement.

Malta's role as rapporteur on the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian Policy was that of a moderator in the context of its relationships with both Israel and the Mediterranean. Certainly, Malta should resist any attempts for it to give up this seat.

Dr de Marco welcomed the creation of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean, which is due to hold its first meeting in Jordan, and insisted that this was complimentary to, rather than a competitor of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, as Spain was making it out to be.

Turning to Malta's membership of the EU, Dr de Marco said Malta's relevance in the EU depended on its relevance in the Mediterranean, where it could employ its deep knowledge of the region and strong links established over the years.

Malta's membership of the European Union had been beneficial to Malta with regard to illegal immigration. The irregular migrants would have landed in Malta even if the island had not been in the EU. But the problem for Malta would have been more serious without EU membership. It was heartening to note that Malta's proposal for the creation of a European emergency fund had been upheld and €20 million had been allocated for this purpose. Malta would be eligible for these funds on the basis of the proportion between the number of migrants and the size of the country. Malta could also apply for funds to cover the repatriation of migrants.

EU membership over a period of two and a half years until next year, would yield Malta net financial assistance of Lm105 million, a far cry from the Lm1.5 million which Labour had claimed Malta would get. Maltese businesses and NGOs were also able to source funds under various EU programmes.

Malta needed to keep a careful look-out for all funding opportunities suitable for the government, businesses and NGOs. Other countries had so-called "fund hunters" to identify funds which the country could seek. Ireland was a pointer of what could be done in this area.

The Forum for Europe, which, among other things, would incorporate Meusac, should be set up as soon as possible for this purpose too.

Dr de Marco said EU membership had also made Malta more relevant internationally and this should be translated to economic relevance.

Given Malta's limited human resources abroad, Malta's embassies had both a political role and a role to promote investment and trade. While well over half of Malta's trade was with the EU, the potential of other markets could not be ignored.

Dr de Marco welcomed the decision taken in September for Malta to join the OECD. Malta, he said, should work for a well regulated but liberalised international trade framework.

Still, EU membership would continue to have the strongest impact on Malta's international trade and attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment. In this context, Malta should also closely follow trade agreements which the EU reached with third countries.

The Brussels embassy should assist Maltese organisations to know about and bid for EU contracts. At the same time there should be a close network between Malta's embassies and counsellors, organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the FOI, Malta Enterprise and the MFSA. Ireland had a Foreign Earnings Committee which coordinated overseas promotion and Malta should consider doing the same thing. It was just as important that Malta's diplomats were as well versed in economic matters as in diplomacy.

Non-EU embassies also had an important role in trade and investment promotion. The embassy in Saudi Arabia, for example, had a role for trade promotion also in neighbouring gulf countries.

Concluding, Dr de Marco praised the work done by parliaments's European and Foreign Affairs Committee, saying MPs from both sides of the House had spoken with one voice in their visits abroad, such as the visas issue during a visit to Tripoli and the visa waiver programme and double taxation issues with the US.

Mr Mario Galea (PN) said that in the budget speech, the problem of illegal immigration had been twinned with bad conditions in the immigrants' countries of origin. On his own various visits representing international organisations, he had felt that the international community was treating the symptoms rather than going for the cause of such problems. Poverty especially emanated from internal conflict and political instability.

Minister Frendo was to be congratulated for having realised the importance of having Maltese representatives participating in the observation of elections overseas. This had been instrumental in Liberia, for example, where, Mr Galea said, he could see for himself conditions that he had not seen anywhere else after 15 years of "the most uncivilised" civil war with the killing of hundreds of thousands of people.

Observation teams from international organisations such as the EU and the UN had done a lot to ensure fair and credible elections.

This was a typical case of the UN having succeeded to terminate a civil war and lead to fair elections. In its own small way Malta had given and would continue to give its fair share towards the solution of such problems which otherwise gave rise to illegal immigration, among other phenomena.

There were a number of ways in which Malta could give an even bigger contribution to the UN, including through the secondment of logistics experts.

Mr Galea said helping illegal immigrants was another case of choice of values: Either Christian values or hollow values.