Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s recent visit to Israel and the West Bank can only be described as positive and successful.

Malta’s ties with Palestine and its support to the two state solution has long been known. But Israel has always been something of an unknown quantity. It was clear, from the outset that Israel’s stance on Malta has changed.

In a meeting with Dr Muscat, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that while relations with Malta were always good per se “there were problems”. He went on to say: “But North Africa and Libya are not what they used to be and Malta is now an EU member… those problems have gone”.

Mr Peres was obviously referring to Malta’s past ties with Libya under the Gaddafi regime. But the change in stance was obvious elsewhere too. In his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was made clear that Malta was a valued partner in terms of tourism and in international relations. The fact that an action plan on health – which could see Maltese cancer patients being treated in Israel – is a very good thing.

 Israel has some of the most advanced cancer treatment and care in the world.  In addition, the governments of Malta and Israel are discussing the possibility of exchanges for doctors from both countries.

Tourism is another bonus. Last year some 26,000 tourists from Israel visited Malta and this year’s figure is likely to rise to 30,000. The Israelis have said that they want to boost outgoing numbers and there are already discussions to increase flight numbers and frequency.

But where Dr Muscat performed best, was in the question of Israel and Palestine as a two state solution. When he met with Shimon Peres, Dr Muscat said that Malta urged Israel to strike a peace deal with Palestine, and he also said that Malta was proud of its position to support the two-state solution.

In a follow up meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr Muscat urged the Palestinians to negotiate and find a compromise. He said that Malta supported the creation of a Palestinian state, but Palestine had to compromise and work hard to strike a deal. There was a remarkable frankness about Dr Muscat’s approach to the discussions which both sides genuinely seemed to appreciate. Rather that tell one thing one side and another thing on the other side in an effort to placate both factions, Dr Muscat literally told it as it was, without using fancy words and jargon.

Dr Muscat has often been described as being bullish and confrontational. In some respects, we agree, he needs to tone it down a notch. But on this particular visit – a very sensitive one, considering the problems in the Middle East – he got it exactly right. Let us now hope that the words of tiny Malta might encourage a real breakthrough in the Middle East peace process. In the words of Dr Muscat himself, Malta’s international relations have been too euro-centric. It is time to get involved with other countries – especially emerging ones. China, Brazil, India are all set to become giants in the near future and that is where our next contacts should be made.