The government is 'no closer' to signing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States of America or NATO than it has been over the past years, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said yesterday evening.

It was reported in the press that the government was moving towards signing such an agreement with the United States of America, possibly as a way to instigate a more favourable American review of Malta in the Moneyval assessment later this year.

The Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs said that no such SOFA agreement exists.

"Furthermore, as has been repeatedly explained, there is no relationship between SOFA and the FATF/Moneyval. As to Moneyval, Malta has introduced various reforms on good governance in the financial sector and the rule of law over the past months and continues to receive positive assessments on these reforms from numerous independent institutions."