(Adds Opposition statement)
Malta is planning to open an embassy in Kuwait, reciprocating a decision by the Gulf state to open an embassy in Malta, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said this morning.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the fourth year of this legislature, the minister said trade promotion in the Gulf was one of the areas on which his ministry focused in the past year.
He said that over the past year, Malta's diplomatic offices abroad had 1,600 commercial contacts, continuing a growing trend over the years.
He said that in association with Malta Enterprise, representatives had been appointed in various regions to focus on trade and investment.
Malta also opened an embassy in Poland and new consulates in India and Benghazi, Libya.
26 double taxation avoidance agreements were signed since 2008 along with six visa-waiving treaties, which all facilitated trade
The Foreign Ministry was also involved in six new reciprocal health agreements, 11 agreements on collaboration in the fight against crime and nine agreements on cultural exchanges.
Dr Borg said that the ministry last year was particularly involved in assisting Maltese caught up in the turmoil of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and also assisted in the evacuation of hundreds of foreigners from Libya.
The ministry along with Malta Enterprise and in some cases, the Office of the President, was also involved in the organisation of trade missions to Portugal, Poland, Ukraine and the Gulf.
PL STATEMENT
In his reaction to the government's report, Labour spokesman for Foreign Affairs George Vella said that the Ministry failed to address several aspects of major importance which required an explanation.
The report, for example, made no mention of the stage talks on the continental shelf were in.
The Labour Party had up to now been cautious but it could not remain so even because communication published in a decree by the Italian government in March 2010 and in which the Italians claimed that part of what Malta claimed as its own was theirs, had not been answered or denied by the government.
Dr Vella said that Parliament was unfortunately being ignored when it came to foreign policy.
This had been the case after the election when the government took Malta back in the Partnership for Peace programme without any parliamentary debate.
This had been a strange move which raised questions but it was now known, through Wikileaks, that everything had been planned in Brussels through Richard Cachia Caruana.
It was unacceptable that people who were not elected were left to decide for the country, Dr Vella said.
PN REPLY
Replying, the Nationalist Party said parliament is not being ignored and statements are often made after visits abroad. This was in contrast to Joseph Muscat's secret meeting with the North Korean ambassador. And the PL only revealed Dr Muscat's trip to Libya after it was revealed in the press.
The PN said the PL spokesman had not uttered a single word on the EU and the funds Malta had been given by the EU for a large number of projects.