Malta ‘looking forward’ to renewing cooperation with Egyptian people - Tonio Borg

Commenting to MaltaToday following the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of uprisings, Tonio Borg said that “Malta will retain its traditional friendship with the Egyptian people, and looks forward to renewing its co-operation with the new Egyptian leadership, and deepen the relationship between the two countries through exchange of views, co-operation in international fora, and signing of agreements in different areas, as has been done in the past,"

The foreign minister added that Egypt`s position in the Middle East, its role as an important leader of the Arab world, and its relationship with its neighbours means that those who run Egypt, now have a special responsibility to restore stability and start the process towards a truly free open and democratic society.

“The worst thing that can happen is for this change to be hijacked by extremist forces; the revolution seems to have been secular in nature and so it should remain,” he said.

“One awaits to see whether the Egyptian model of democracy starts a new era in the Middle East and in the Arab world, one hopes that as EU foreign Ministers said last January, the transition to democracy must be orderly and smooth.”