Signing marks big step in Malta

If everything goes as planned, Maltese citizens will be able to travel to the United States without a visa as of next year after the government yesterday joined the list of countries on the US visa waiver programme.

Home Affairs and Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and US Ambassador Molly Bordonaro yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding, the first step for Malta to actually obtain visa exempt status.

Among other things, Malta would first have to introduce biometric passports - which use enhanced identification parameters such as fingerprints. Malta should be in line with the programmes, criteria by the end of the year.

The deal follows another important agreement that has long been on the agenda of discussions between Malta and the US: The double taxation avoidance treaty signed earlier this month.

In this connection, Ms Bordonaro was asked whether the fact that these significant deals followed Malta rejoining the Partnership for Peace was a coincidence. Dr Mifsud Bonnici interjected, saying it was. Both the visa waiver and the double taxation avoidance agreement have been on the agenda for the past years. Malta was effectively on the list of potential candidates for the programme as far back as 2001, but after the 9/11 attacks the plan was scrapped.

Seven years after the 2001 attacks, the US signed similar MOUs with other EU member states over the past months, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania.

"We are very pleased to add Malta to that list," Ms Bordonaro said while pointing out that there was work to be done for Malta to meet the programme's criteria.

Similarly, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the agreement was very significant, especially as the US had historically been an attractive destination for the Maltese for different reasons.

He highlighted the efforts made by representatives from the two main political parties to reach the agreement, adding that the government was committed to making sure that the necessary preparations were concluded as established within the framework of the MOU.