Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will pay an official visit to the Palestinian territories in October upon the invitation of the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki, currently in Malta for talks. (He will also be visiting Israel.)

As he stressed Malta’s important role in strongly supporting the cause of the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom and independence, Mr al-Maliki said the Palestinian people will be pleased to welcome Dr Muscat, probably in October, to thank him personally for Malta’s support.

“You should never underestimate the importance of Malta’s position on the Palestinian cause. We are indebted to Malta for its strong and unconditional support,” he told a joint press conference this afternoon following talks with his Maltese counterpart George Vella.

Dr Vella said both sides had agreed to set up a joint commission to discuss issues of a bilateral nature so as to expand the relations between the two countries.

This afternoon, Mr Malaki addressed the Parliamentary Foreign and European Affairs committee and said that the Palestinian Authority had agreed on a land swap with Israel as a concession of their own to adopt the two state solution.

He said the location and percentage of ground conceded depended on the negotiations with Israel.