The visit to the United States concluded by the Maltese government last week confirms the great friendship and bilateral cooperation between both countries, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.
Speaking in parliament, Dr Gonzi gave details about the visit to the United States last week, following an invitation to the government from the US government. The highlight of this visit was Dr Gonzi’s meeting with US President George W Bush.
He said the visit reaffirmed the spirit of friendship between the two countries at political, economic and cultural levels.
Dr Gonzi said the Maltese delegation had had several meetings during the five-day visit. Among others, meetings were held with Senator Richard Lugar and Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He said Foreign Minister Michael Frendo had held separate meetings with Robert Kimmit, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
Dr Gonzi explained that during the meeting he had with President Bush, in the presence of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, they had discussed a number of issues. Primarily, they had discussed the question of double taxation and the possibility of re-introducing this agreement. They also discussed the visa waiver agreement. It had been agreed, he said, to set up working groups to discuss and finalise the technical aspects of these two issues.
On the possibility of the US waiving the visa requirement for Maltese citizens, Dr Gonzi said that although progress had been made, because the government had been given a roadmap, there were still a number of obstacles to surmount.
Dr Gonzi said that during his 35-minute meeting with Mr Bush, they spoke about the issue of terrorism and developments in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. “We also discussed ways in which to fight terror in the world and the role Malta plays as a state in the middle of the Mediterranean basin,” he said.
He said they also touched on the issue of Malta’s European Union membership, the difference that this had made to the country and developments in Malta since then.
He said he thanked Mr Bush and the US Government for the technical assistance it had given to Malta to fight terrorism and crime. At bilateral level, he said, they discussed possible ways of improving American investment in Malta. This was when the double taxation issue was discussed.
Moreover, they discussed the Ship Boarding Agreement. When asked for more details, Dr Gonzi said he had explained to Mr Bush that Malta had the eighth largest ship register in the world. He said he informed the President that Malta would have to consider its position, in view of possible repercussions such an agreement could have on Malta’s register, which Malta intends to protect.
Dr Gonzi said that during the meeting with Mr Bush, they discussed the issue of irregular immigration. He added that the US President said he fully understood the problem, mainly because the United States faces the same challenge in irregular immigration from Mexico and islands in the Mexican Gulf.
He said this discussion included the fact that the immigrants are victims of the situation in their own countries and also of poverty. At this point they spoke about poverty in the world and about the initiatives taken by the United Nations, as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s idea to write off the debts of third world and poor countries.
Replying to several questions by Labour Party MP Leo Brincat, Dr Gonzi said the Maltese and US government were presently updating the extradition treaty in both countries. However, he said, this had not been discussed during the US visit.
In answer to a question as to why the delegation did not include Maltese businessmen, Dr Gonzi said that no businessmen had been invited because it was a political visit. He said that during the visit, the Maltese delegation had taken the opportunity to meet a number of businessmen. He said Malta Enterprise had taken a number of businessmen to the US to discuss these matters.
“The government can facilitate investment but, at the end of the day, it also depends on the investor. The secret to attracting more investment is that we market Malta’s potential,” he said.
As to whether the two parties had set timeframes for discussions on the issues pending between Malta and the US, Dr Gonzi said that working groups will be established by the end of the year.
On the subject of visas, Dr Gonzi said reference had been made to the record of refusals by the US embassy. “We noticed that the number of refusals had increased over previous years, and we have to examine the reason for this. On a bilateral level, we need to carry out an investigation. If one person applies 10 times, then this results in 10 refusals. We don’t think that this is the right criteria to use. The Maltese people have a good reputation,” he said.
Replying to a question from Labour MP Joe Mizzi, Dr Gonzi said that neither party had mentioned the new US embassy in Malta or made any reference to the promise of sale agreement on property in Ta’ Qali. He said that neither had these issues been raised at any of the other meetings that had been held.