Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is to meet President George W. Bush at the White House on October 3, the government said yesterday.
Dr Gonzi "has been invited to Washington by US President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in early October", the government said. Dr Gonzi will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo.
The White House said Malta has been a valued partner in the fight against terror "helping to safeguard shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and promoting US-EU political and economic cooperation".
It said President Bush and Dr Gonzi look forward to discussing how the two nations can strengthen their bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation as well as how the United States and the European Union "can work together to advance freedom and prosperity in the broader Middle East and North Africa".
The government said the island enjoys significant US investment as well as close collaboration with the US government within the context of the global fight against terrorism.
Malta's membership of the EU, it said, will enhance this relationship further, both in the framework of bilateral relations as well as the broader perspective of the continuing efforts towards the stabilisation of the Mediterranean region.
In the US Dr Gonzi will hold a number of high-level meetings with prominent US personalities and is to meet members of the Maltese community living in Washington DC.
"This visit is yet another historical milestone which will serve to strengthen the excellent relations between the two countries, spanning over several decades," the government said. Observers expect the agenda to be topped by the lack of a double taxation agreement between Malta and the United States, the need for Maltese citizens to obtain a visa before travelling to the US, the global war on terrorism, the need to attract more US investment to Malta and the way Malta's membership of the EU can strengthen relations between Washington and Valletta.
This will be the third meeting between a Maltese Prime Minister and a US President at the White House since Malta achieved independence in 1964. In 1988 Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami had a meeting with President Ronald Reagan and in 1994 Dr Fenech Adami met President Bill Clinton.
Dr Fenech Adami had also met President George H. Bush, President Bush's father, in Malta during the December 1989 Bush- Gorbachev summit.
In September 1963, Prime Minister George Borg Olivier had met President John F. Kennedy at the White House, a year before the island gained its independence from Britain.