Ray Azzopardi, former head of the Labour Party's radio, has been appointed head of mission to Nato.

He is currently also serving as ambassador to Belgium.

Mr Azzopardi presented his letter of appointment to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Secretary General of Nato last month, the Foreign Ministry said on its website.

It pointed out that Malta works with Nato within the Partnership for Peace, "which is a programme aimed towards bringing Nato and Partner States together, for peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic Area."

During their meeting, Mr Rasmussen and Mr Azzopardi agreed on the continued importance for the international community to invest its time and effort in enhancing dialogue and cooperation, the ministry said.

The ambassador emphasised the relevance of these dialogues in view of the new global security challenges, and conveyed the particular difficulties arising from human trafficking in the Southern Mediterranean region.

It was recalled how, during the Libyan crisis, Malta continued to meet its geopolitical responsibilities, providing invaluable assistance to the International Community for the evacuation of expatriates from Libya, and also providing urgent humanitarian and medical assistance to the Libyan population, including to those wounded during the conflict.

Mr Rasmussen thanked Mr Azzopardi for Malta’s co-operation in the context of the Libyan crisis and said that Nato was willing to discuss and listen to Malta’s views related to the security of the Southern Mediterranean region.