Ian Borg says Malta will recognise Palestinian state, but does not give timeline

Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg told parliament on Tuesday that Malta still intends on recognising a Palestinian state “within a proportionate amount of time”.

“The discussion and work to recognise Palestine is ongoing,” he said. “I’m making sure that this parliament will be involved in this process.”

Last March, the Office of the Prime Minister issued a statement stating that Malta, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia agreed to recognise Palestine as a state “when the conditions to set up this State allow for this”.

Since then, Slovenia, Ireland, Spain and Norway took steps to formally recognise the Palestinian state.

Malta’s lacking progress on the matter has raised questions. The Nationalist Party has urged the government to recognise a Palestinian state as soon as possible, but the government keeps insisting that it will take the step in due time.

In parliament, Borg pointed out that Malta already has a representative in Ramallah, and Palestine has an ambassador in Malta. “Malta never held back when contributing to the discussion on the Palestinian cause.”

Borg was replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Mario De Marco.