President George Abela highlighted Malta's foreign policy priorities when he greeted resident and non-resident members of the diplomatic corps during the exchange of New Year greetings yesterday morning.

He spoke of his hope for the EU to have a more prominent role in the regional and international arenas in future through the new institutions of the Council President and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

"Above all, it is our desire that the EU draws closer to European citizens so its relevance to their daily lives will be more manifest and comprehensible," he said.

Touching on the global recession, he said the last two years were not easy for most countries. Luckily, Malta did not suffer as much due to the government's timely measures to avoid the recession's worst consequences. He cited cautious local banks and the euro adoption as the determining reasons for the recession's relatively mild local impact.

He also mentioned that this year was the EU Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

"That so many millions of our fellow men in Asia, Africa and Latin America still live in poverty is a shame for all humanity. Let us hope this year will indeed go some way towards alleviating the hardship of so much suffering humanity," Dr Abela.

Touching on illegal immigration, Dr Abela said Malta was sympathetic to migrants who faced such uncertainty in trying to get to a land they perceived was full of hope.

"We think a lasting solution lies in cooperation in a readmission policy coupled with economic assistance designed for the amelioration of the economic and political situations of the migrants' countries of origin. In the meantime, we consider it essential that our burden be shared by our European partners, for this issue is not ours alone."