Maltese embassies and consular offices had, up to the end of May, registered more requests for services and help than the whole of 2008, the Foreign Ministry said today.

By far the busiest were Malta's offices in Australia, which accounted for more than half the total of 7,500 contacts.

The main reasons for the contacts were applications for visas, passports and other documents, but the Foreign Ministry also reported increased contacts as part of business enquiries.

Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said the governemnt had a policy of bringing its offices abroad closer to the people, and he thanked all diplomatic staff for their work.

The minister over the past weekend opened a representative office in Ramallah and an embassy in Tel Aviv.

He said the Foreign Ministry was also giving major importance to overseas trade missions, having organised such missions to the Ukraine, Portugal and Poland this year and concluded several double taxation avoidance agreements.

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