A new Labour government is committed to strengthening political, economical, commercial and cultural ties between Malta and India, as the Maltese government is evidently lagging behind, said opposition spokesman on foreign affairs Leo Brincat.

Mr Brincat claimed that calls for expressions of interest in a commercial delegation to accompany Minister Michael Frendo on his trip to India earlier this month met with a tepid response. In fact, he said, the response was so weak that the minister had decided to scrap the idea of leading a commercial delegation. Moreover, those who had originally shown interest in joining the delegation had opted out.

The Labour spokesman criticised the minister for the delayed opening of the new Maltese Embassy in New Delhi. On 9 October last year, Minister Frendo answered a Parliamentary Question from Mr Brincat, by saying that the embassy would be opened later that year. Mr Brincat enquired why the minister had not kept his word and asked what could have held up the opening date of the new embassy.

Similarly, Mr Brincat said the minister still had to state whether the supposed strong Indian interest in inbound investment would prompt the re-opening of the Indian embassy in Malta.

He said he hoped that more real action and less rhetoric would be exercised in the future, in order to strengthen relations with countries such as India, which were deemed to be the new economic motors of the world.