The special bond between Malta and Britain has grown deeper and stronger over the course of our remarkable, shared history.

From the English among the Knights of the Order of St John, who arrived in this country from the 16th century, to the 500,000 British holidaymakers who now travel to Malta to enjoy your sunshine and culture each year – our two national stories have long been intertwined.

And it’s not just our history that binds us together, but the fundamental values and aspirations we share.

We think alike in so many ways in our outlook on the world – we are both free trading, entrepreneurial, innovative and creative nations.

My visit to Valletta comes at an important time in Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU. And I want to take this opportunity to make clear once again that while we may be leaving the institutions of the EU, we are not leaving Europe.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to speak to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today about the work we are doing and the approach we will take.

My clear message is that the UK’s important relationship with Malta will not diminish after Brexit. We will continue to be your closest friends, allies and trading partners after we’ve left the European Union.

Because it would be in neither side’s interests to put up new barriers to trade.

Both the UK and Malta have services at the heart of our economies – so a bespoke free trade deal that includes zero tariffs on services is in our mutual interest. Total bilateral trade between Malta and the UK in 2016 was valued at more than €2 billion.

Our economies are closely integrated in a number of sectors, with more than three-quarters of your automotive industry exports going to the UK and 40 per cent of your wood, paper and forestry imports coming from Britain.

British companies in Malta, including HSBC, Vodafone and printing firm De La Rue, employ thousands of people.

HSBC alone has 1,400 staff here.

We want British and Maltese firms to go on strengthening their investments in our two countries after Brexit. But to do that, we need to agree a deep and mutually beneficial free trade agreement that goes beyond anything the UK or EU has signed before.

Both the UK and Malta have services at the heart of our economies – so a bespoke free trade deal that includes zero tariffs on services is in our mutual interest

Around 31,000 Maltese live in the United Kingdom, while some 10,000 to 15,000 British citizens have made their homes in Malta. We want to make sure that this will continue in the same way.

On Friday, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May set out her vision in her speech at Mansion House for the UK’s future economic partnership with the EU after Brexit. She said existing models do not provide the best way forward for either the UK or the EU.

The Prime Minister made clear that we are leaving the single market, and that life is going to be different. In certain ways, our access to each other’s markets will be less than it is now.

I’d like to reflect on the Prime Minister’s ambitions and what they mean for Malta.

We both want good access to each other’s markets, and we want the broadest and deepest possible partnership – covering more sectors and cooperating more fully than any free trade agreement anywhere in the world today.

We believe this is achievable because it is in the EU’s interests as well as ours.

As we look to the March European Council, we should aim for an economic partnership that delivers a high level of UK-EU market access to our mutual benefit. We believe this can be achieved via a Customs arrangement and a commitment to ensure that the relevant UK regulatory standards remain at least as high as the EU’s.

We realise that this would constrain our ability to lower regulatory standards for industrial goods. But, as the Prime Minister and I have set out, we want a race to the top on standards, not a race to the bottom.

We know that businesses want as much certainty as possible, which is why we are working with the European Union to agree an implementation period by the March European Council.

The implementation period should act as a bridge to our future relationship, laying the foundations for a smooth transition to the close partnership we want.

We hope to rely on the support of our Maltese partners in pursuing our shared aims in the negotiations.

So, we value our relationship with Malta deeply; it matters to us very much – not just in terms of trade, but in a wide range of other areas, including security and defence. We have made clear that our commitment to European security is unconditional.

The friendship between Britain and Malta has endured many challenges down the centuries, not just surviving, but going on to flourish and strengthen into a truly special bond between our nations.

This bond will go on deepening when Britain leaves the European Union.

David Davis is British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.