Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman arrives in Malta on Thursday on a two-day visit.
He is due to meet Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg and Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, among others.
The visit follows an invitation made by Dr Borg when he met Mr Lieberman in March (see picture).
Malta opened an embassy in Tel Aviv last year.
Since then, relations have been in the news particularly following the shooting of a Maltese pro-Palestinian demonstrator, Bianca Zammit, in Gaza and the tender submitted by an Israeli company for the power station extension.