“We augur that this course meets with the success it merits.” The Movement encourages the

members of the academic staff who have made this initiative possible. The Movement also thinks that this is a worthwhile investment for the good of the country in the context of EU membership.

The European Movement (Malta) believes that if Malta wishes to play a credible role in the region, it needs to cultivate and strengthen a cadre of individuals who are knowledgeable of Arabic and its culture and who can analyse and bring to public attention the richness of this culture in its true colours.

Such courses also help in the longer term towards fostering a better understanding of minority groups in Malta itself and improve tolerance.

Malta cannot hope to play a leading role in the EU on Mediterranean issues unless a stronger effort is undertaken to attain a deeper understanding of the region in support of which we speak.

The European Movement (Malta) also notes that a knowledge of Arabic and its culture will permit the business community in the longer-term to grasp more of the opportunities that are being created as part of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership planned to be completed by 2010.

These economic opportunities can be found both in the manufacturing as well as in the increasingly vital service sector.

The European Movement (Malta) thus urges members of the business community to invest in their own future by taking up this opportunity and by materially supporting it. Knowledge of Arabic and its culture also helps Malta in enhancing its contribution to the dialogue of cultures that is so useful for the enhancement of peace and security in the region.

The Maltese educational authorities are to be praised also for the manner in which they are helping to position Malta as an EU member state: not as a state situated on the EU’s fuzzy edge but in the midst of an ever strengthening Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.