Malta must develop 'Mediterranean solutions', prime minister tells ambassadors

Prime Minister Robert Abela has stressed Malta's need to develop truly Mediterranean solutions to regional problems, warning that the Mediterranean has historically been a victim of outside interests.

"Historically, the Mediterranean has fallen victim to interests that were not necessarily Mediterranean interests, even if they perhaps coincided with the interests of one or another country in the Mediterranean," Abela said. "Therefore, it is necessary that, in the Mediterranean region, we continue to develop our capacities to come up with truly Mediterranean solutions to the problems that affect us all."

The Prime Minister was speaking during his annual meeting with Malta's ambassadors abroad, where he set out the country's diplomatic agenda for the year ahead.

This year's theme, "Securing Our Purpose", was chosen to reflect the need to strengthen Malta's foreign service in the national interest.

Abela recalled Malta's recent high-level international commitments, including its term on the United Nations Security Council, its OSCE chairmanship in 2024, and its Presidency of the Council of Europe in 2025, during which work began to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

He also pointed to Malta's recognition of the State of Palestine as part of its efforts to keep a Two-State Solution alive.

Abela linked diplomatic work to the Malta 2050 Vision, describing ambassadors as "the key that opens Malta to the world" and urging them, alongside Honorary Consuls who joined the meeting for the first time, to carry the message that, “Malta is open, built on work, and ready to seize opportunities in key sectors such as trade and tourism.”

The Prime Minister also warned of growing challenges to the international order, saying multilateral institutions need reform, particularly to protect small states. "We are experiencing a context of challenges and uncertainties around us. Within multilateral institutions, we are seeing the need for reforms that are not taking place, to the danger of small countries like ours. These are realities that we cannot ignore,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

He added that in recent years, Malta has also shown that it is capable of making its contribution to improving these circumstances, in favour of national interests and the common good.