This month Russia and Malta will be celebrating a milestone event – the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Naturally, the history of bilateral relations is not limited to this period but goes deep into centuries. The first documented contact between Russia and Malta dates back to 1545, while the first official one took place in 1698, during the reign of Peter the Great.
The Ambassadors’ Hall at the President’s Palace in Valletta is still decorated with a present from the Russian Empress Catherine II – her portrait done by a famous Russian painter Dmitry Levitsky. And, as is well known, Catherine’s son, Pavel I, was even proclaimed Grand Master of the Order of Malta.
Since those times for many centuries Russia and Malta have been bound by traditions of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.
In the political sphere Moscow and Valletta have always maintained the necessary level of interaction, regularly organising contacts on different levels. Recent examples include the 2013 meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as well as the visit to Malta by Valentina Matvienko, chair of the Russian Parliament’s Upper Chamber and a former ambassador of Russia to Malta, who met with the country’s highest ranking officials and was decorated with the National Order of Merit.
Last year was especially remarkable for our bilateral ties.
In June 2016, the Prime Minister took part in the 20th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Then, six months later, Dr Muscat paid another visit to Russia, which became the first working visit by a Maltese Prime Minister to our country in almost 25 years.
On November 15, Dr Muscat and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held talks and exchanged views on all aspects of the Russian-Maltese bilateral agenda and means of stepping up our cooperation in various spheres.
A number of documents were signed, including the agreement on mutual recognition of education, qualifications and academic degrees as well as a memorandum between Russia’s Higher School of Economics and Malta’s Domain Academy on a joint educational project, which will see some 300 students from Russia continue their studies in Malta.
Over the years Russia and Malta have taken active steps to further develop trade, economic and investment cooperation. In 2002 Malta’s Corinthia Group successfully realised a major investment project in Russia by opening the Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg, which became the winner of numerous hospitality awards.
The close ties between our two countries are further strengthened by the presence of a large Russian community in Malta
The sides share an understating that the yet untapped mutual economic potential needs to be fully developed. Chambers of commerce and industry of both countries are engaged in an active and constructive dialogue, including through the office of Anastasia Budykho, honorary representative of the Russian Chamber in Malta, on the ways of further boosting and promoting bilateral economic cooperation.
In recent years Russia and Malta signed a number of agreements and memorandums to create favourable conditions for the development of bilateral business ties, including the Convention on the Avoidance of Double Taxation. Moreover, in 2015 the Russian Finance Ministry excluded Malta from its list of offshore jurisdictions.
Russia and Malta have developed very close and rich ties in cultural and humanitarian fields. Since 1990, Valletta has been hosting the Russian Centre for Science and Culture, which is tasked with maintaining and enhancing this cooperation.
Thanks to the active mutual efforts, more than a hundred cultural events are held in both countries every year. Major ones include traditional Orthodox Christmas concerts at the Russian chapel in San Anton Palace, ballet shows, concert tours by Russian and Maltese musicians, exhibitions, music festivals, movie screenings and many more.
Russian musicians are frequent guests at major Maltese festivals – music, jazz, opera and others.
World-famous tenor Joseph Calleja, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Brian Schembri and other prominent Maltese musicians regularly give concerts in Russia, which are a great success. Also, for two consecutive years young Maltese singers became prize-winners at the ‘New Wave Junior’ International Music Competition in Crimea.
The close ties between our two countries are further strengthened by the presence of a large Russian community in Malta, which according to some estimates numbers around several thousand people. The interests of our citizens are represented by a coordinating committee. There is also a Russian Orthodox parish, a Russian boarding school as well as a number of educational centres offering Russian-language education.
The meaningful role played by our compatriots in Malta was highlighted during the first-ever meeting between President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and members of the Russian community in March 2016. The participants at this historic event held a frank discussion on the issues facing Russians in Malta and agreed to organise similar meetings in the future.
The Russian community is also very active in promoting people-to-people contacts and supporting the bilateral cultural agenda. Several organisations founded by our compatriots, including the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) and the Russian-Maltese Cultural Association to name just two, have been doing a remarkable job in this regard, bringing the best of Russian culture to Malta.
One good example of this will be the pre-premiere show of The Crystal Palace ballet in Valletta on July 21. The performance has been made possible through the vigorous efforts of Konstantin Ishkhanov, EUFSC president.
This joint production, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, will feature soloists from the Bolshoi and other leading Russian theatres, as well as the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, children from a Maltese choir and a ballet school. The music for the ballet was written by the contemporary Maltese composer Alexey Shor.
In conclusion I would like to express hope that the anniversary of Russian-Maltese relations will serve as a starting point for further strengthening and expanding our traditionally friendly and mutually beneficial ties.
Vladimir Malygin is the Russian ambassador to Malta.