Malta is gaining a strong foothold in the Middle East with the inauguration of a new diplomatic representation in Ramallah, Palestine yesterday and with today’s official opening of a Maltese embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, who is in the region this weekend, has attended both events. Dr Borg held meetings with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Malki, Economy Minister Dr Basem Khoury, Home Affairs Minister Said Abu Ali. Dr Borg also laid a wreath on the tomb of Yasser Arafat.

Today he is expected to meet Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Danny Meridor and President Shimon Peres.

The Ramallah diplomatic representation, headed by Alan Bugeja, is a joint initiative undertaken with Cyprus, part of an agreement signed last year between the two countries. The Tel Aviv embassy, headed by Ambassador Abraham Borg, has also been set up in cooperation with Cyprus.

Speaking about the joint initiative, Dr Borg described it as another important step towards fulfilling one of the Malta’s set objectives on foreign policy -– to increase representations abroad so as to offer better services to Maltese living overseas.

Maltese citizens living abroad are fully aware of the presence and services offered by Malta’s diplomatic missions, as evidenced by the number of calls made to embassies and consulates overseas, which had over 7,400 contacts in 2008.

Dr Borg augured that the opening of the Representation Office in Ramallah would further strengthen and take bilateral relations to new heights.

It represents the embodiment of the close historical and traditional ties of friendship and solidarity that exist between the Maltese and Palestinian peoples.

At the same time, it will help both Malta and Palestine to explore new areas of cooperation as well as Malta’s assistance to the Palestinian people. Within this context, the Maltese government has decided the Palestinian Territories should feature as a priority area for Malta’s Overseas Development Policy.

As for Israel, Dr Borg said he believes that the opening of the embassy marks another important milestone in Malta’s diplomatic history, and praised the work accomplished by all those who served in the Maltese Diplomatic Corps throughout the years for having managed to build up sound bilateral relations between Malta and Israel.

Dr Borg also emphasised the need to make headway in Maltese-Israeli relations and that this embassy will serve as a tool to achieve this goal. He also expressed his belief in continuing to foster relations with Israel while at the same time analysing new opportunities that are bound to arise in the coming years.

Israel, he added, has a lot to contribute especially on economic issues, where there is a good deal of potential in terms of business opportunities, especially as a result of Malta’s EU membership. Potential sectors for Malta in Israel exist in the fields of tourism, IT, and renewable energy – in which Israel is a leader with various types of renewable energy, both solar and wind based. As for tourism, the embassy in Tel Aviv has facilitated the targeting of a niche of agents and journalists for incentive tourism from Israel.