Guido de Marco’s legacy will influence the establishment of peace and cooperation among all nations of the Mediterranean, according to the chairman of the UN’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People.

Speaking at the committee’s 325th meeting, Paul Bajdi, UN Ambassador and Permanent Representative to Senegal, expressed his “deepest sympathy” for the passing away of Malta’s former President, while paying tribute to his memory.

“Prof. de Marco is well known to the members of the committee as an ardent supporter of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the Question of Palestine on the basis of international legitimacy and the United Nations resolutions,” Ambassador Bajdi said.

Prof. de Marco contributed personally to identifying practicable approaches towards moving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward, he said, adding that the former President highly valued the role of the United Nations, including the committee, in resolving the conflict.

“As President of the General Assembly in 1990, he addressed the special meeting of the committee to commemorate the International Solidarity Day with the Palestinian People. When, in 1992, the Government of Malta invited the committee to hold its European meeting in Malta, Prof. de Marco addressed its opening session in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta.

“He remained a true friend of the committee, always prepared to support its work with advice and counsel. Participants in the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace held in 2008 in Malta gained from his vast experience and insight on the situation in the Middle East as part of the Mediterranean when he addressed the gathering as an invited Honourable Expert,” Ambassador Bajdi said.

The Ambassador and Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, also shared his condolences for the passing away of “a true friend of Palestine”.