US Congress earmarks $100,000 for AFM training funds

Malta will receive $50,000 less in American international military education and training (IMET) funds in 2015, although the $100,000 figure may yet be subject to change.

The United States’ Department of State runs a billion-dollar foreign military financing programme for allies, and Malta remains a recipient of international training funds.

The United States considers Malta as “an important partner” in addressing regional security concerns as a major transhipment hub in the heart of the Mediterranean.

In its budgetary justification, the Department of State noted that the election of Labour in 2013 had not changed the “largely bipartisan political consensus for maintaining Malta’s constitutionally-mandated neutrality”.

Malta has been a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace since March 2008. “Ongoing U.S. assistance will serve to highlight the value of the continuing partnership between the United States and Malta.”

International Military Education and Training (IMET) is the primary means of US-Maltese military cooperation. IMET-funded courses and training events expose Maltese defense leadership and members of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) to U.S. military training, doctrine, and values.

IMET activities included capacity building to combat transnational threats and enhancing maritime interdiction capabilities and forge lasting relationships between Malta’s emerging military leaders and their U.S. counterparts.

Most IMET-funded activities are conducted at military institutions in the United States, allowing for valuable cultural exchanges with communities across the  country.

IMET funding will provide professional military education courses for junior- and mid-level officers and senior non-commissioned officers.