I ndeed, life is full of surprises and not always negative ones. The crowds that turned up to greet Pope Benedict were not surprising, neither were the throngs of people that lined the streets with flags and posters. All in all, what happened throughout that week was quite predictable with one exception: an interesting talk I managed to find tucked away in the Giorgio Borg Olivier Hall at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Valletta.

This main hall of the imposing Palazzo Parisio, seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted a Mediterranean Diplomacy Forum aimed at engaging students of the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies, based at the University of Malta, in a frank and open debate with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg on Malta's strategic objectives of foreign affairs.

Although having heard of the 20 objectives of Malta's foreign affairs, I had never had the opportunity to look through them properly and, I dare say, I was not only surprised but also impressed.

In a short booklet outlining the objectives, Malta's past, present and future are outlined in a way that does us proud. It brings together our heritage and visions for the future of our modern state, our modus operandi being one, that is to be proactive without being presumptuous.

On this occasion, Dr Borg chose to debate those objectives that are directly related to the Euro-Med region. In this area, Malta's policy has always been clear. We are a member of the European Union, centrally located in the Mediterranean. We have always recognised the importance the Mediterranean region has played in the grand scheme of things and, thus, have always pushed it to the top of Malta's foreign policy.

Listening to the Deputy Prime Minister debating is refreshing, especially seeing that, this time, he was addressing students from across the Mediterranean region. His style is inimitable and handling of the subject envious. All felt very comfortable to challenge his words and debate them.

One thing is true: the Mediterranean region has always been and will always remain a cornerstone of our foreign policy. In every forum we have been a part of, we continue to work towards one goal: more cooperation among Mediterranean states, primarily on a political level, to search for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East question but also on an economic, social, civil and environmental level where much can be achieved.

Our commitment to the region has been readily endorsed by the EU with the setting up of the European Commission - League of Arab States Liaison Office in Malta and through the appointment of Ambassador Cecilia Attard Pirotta as the first Maltese Under-Secretary-General of the recently-established Union for the Mediterranean, which has already started edging towards concrete actions and proposals.

As we have done with other agencies, Malta will throw its full weight behind the UfM to ensure its success. The Deputy Prime Minister was categorical in his support and hopes for steady progress and success in all areas that affect the Mediterranean and, therefore, Malta.

Dr Portelli is president of the Nationalist Party's executive committee.

marthesportelli.consult@gmail.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.