Vella does not want ‘cut and paste’ from ambassadors

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella addressing ambassadors. Video by Ray Attard

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella has asked ambassadors representing Malta in foreign countries to present him with "concise" reports, and refrain from "cutting and pasting" their wording from foreign media sources.

Vella was delivering the opening speech during the second day of the Ambassadors' High Level meeting. He said that these meetings were a good means by which to discuss and share experiences of foreign affairs and policy.

"I do not want to receive bible-long reports as I do not always have the time to read them," Vella said. "I understand one's eagerness to write a detailed report on an issue which they may have have invested a lot of time on, but it is very important to be concise."

"Furthermore, I don't want to receive reports that are practically a 'cut and paste' version of foreign media reports," he said. "I want to hear your opinions as ambassadors of this country."

"You are the Maltese mouth-piece in foreign countries," the minister told the ambassadors gathered at the conference. "You have an enormous responsibility in representing your country and this reflects in your non-official behavior also."

Vella said that government appointed its ambassadors because it had faith in all of them and said that, "generally speaking", it had not been disappointed.

"Your job is to promote your country and I do not imagine that you would need to bend over backwards to do this," he said. "With our political stability, sound financing, and geographical position, saying all this will already go a long way."

Vella said that, on an international level, Malta had "punched above its weight" especially in light of the fact that the country had limited resources at its disposal.