Frendo hails 'leap of confidence' between Tunisia and Malta

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said yesterday that last week's agreement with Tunisia on joint oil exploration and exploitation in zones between the two countries marked an important departure from a situation where countries only focused on their own claims of exploration rights.

Replying to questions after making a statement to Parliament, Dr Frendo said this agreement was "a new model of collaboration and joint action" and represented a "leap of confidence" by both countries.

He said that talks with Italy and Libya were so far still based on the "old model" of delineating territory. Those talks, he said, were being held on different parameters not least because in the case of Libya, a Labour government had opted to take the issue to the International Court of Justice and both parties were bound by its ruling. That ruling had not followed the median line between the two countries but delineation was moved north, so that Malta lost an important area it had made claims on.

In his statement Dr Frendo explained how in terms of the agreement with Tunisia, signed on February 27, the two countries are to form a joint group of experts to determine within three months the zones where joint oil exploration and, hopefully, exploitation, would take place.

Both countries agreed that during this period of three months and two weeks neither of them would engage in any oil exploration activity in the zones at issue.

Dr Frendo said that prior to this agreement, both countries had focused on underlining their claims with regard to the continental shelf. Now they had adopted a different model whereby they would carry out joint exploration and exploitation, without prejudice to their claims.

This was thus a historic agreement which strengthened and raised relations between Malta and Tunisia to a new level.

Labour MP Joe Mizzi asked the minister whether he could table minutes showing that a Labour government between 1996-1998 had held talks with Tunis and Tripoli on joint exploration and exploitation. Had those talks been continued?

How many times had Italy, Tunisia or Libya stopped seismic surveys or oil exploration licensed by Malta and how many times had Malta done so with respect to those countries?

Why was oil exploration not taking place in zones which were not disputed?

Mario Galea (PN) asked if the agreement with Tunisia included a mechanism for the settlement of the claims for the zones disputed by both countries.

Leo Brincat (MLP) asked if this was a formal agreement or a "common declaration of intent" as the Tunisian press had described it.

Would there need to be talks with third countries on the zones to be identified for joint exploration?

Could the minister indicate when joint oil exploration could start?

What were the prospects of agreement with other countries?

Dr Frendo in his replies said he was not the minister responsible for oil exploration and he could only speak on international relations, in this case with Tunisia. This, he said, was an "agreement" with Tunisia and the terms used by the Tunisian press stemmed from the French translation.

The breakthrough in this agreement was that the two countries had agreed to move from the old model of seeking agreement on their claims to working together in the areas which both claimed, without prejudice to those claims.

The talks Mr Mizzi had said were carried out by the Labour government in 1996-98 were on the delineation of the median line, not joint exploration.

Dr Frendo said the group of experts would identify and decide on oil exploration in zones between Malta and Tunisia while taking consideration of any rights or claims other countries may have. However this was not the case of this group negotiating with other countries as it involved areas between Malta and Tunisia.

The nature of this agreement, he said, could spearhead progress in other aspects of relations between Tunisia and Malta.

The agreement did not include a mechanism for the settlement of the claims which each country was making, because the aim here was to move forward on a new model of working together on the zones claimed by both.

When he referred to claims by other countries, which in some cases he described as "stretched", Dr Frendo said the situation was different. The talks were still based on the old model of seeking agreement on the outstanding claims, but even the methods were different. In the case of Italy, talks on the median line would continue in the coming days between experts from both countries, although he could not say an agreement was close.

In the case of Libya, such talks had to be held in the context of the fact that under a Labour government Malta had agreed (in the 1980s) to take the issue to the International Court of Justice and both countries had bound themselves to abide by the court's ruling. That ruling had moved delineation north of the Median line, denying Malta important territory which it had claimed.

The agreement with Tunisia was a "win-win" deal which did not prejudice the old claims but represented a leap of confidence and reciprocal respect.

Dr Frendo expressed his gratitude to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for his personal commitment as well as Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah. He said relations between the two countries had intensified after the visit to Malta by the Tunisian President last year, when he had talks with President Fenech Adami and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.