Malta and Estonia signed a bilateral agreement on collaboration on diplomatic studies between the two countries through which Estonia will offer Maltese students sessions about the Nordic and Baltic states and policies while Malta will offer Estonian students sessions on the Mediterranean, North Africa and Sahel, when Foreign and European Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo presided over the virtual signing of an agreement between the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies and the Estonian School of Diplomacy.
The Mediterranean Academy of Diplomacy has agreed with the proposal of the Estonian School of Diplomacy that eventually Malta and Estonia could also work jointly on projects through EU Funding. The signing of this agreement coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishing of the bilateral relations between Malta and Estonia.
Minister Evarist Bartolo welcomed this agreement and said that while we are indeed living in very difficult, dark times, this initiative provides hope and faith between two small states in strategic regions.
‘In Malta we have both Russian and Ukrainian communities and we uphold social peace among the communities as we try to keep hate speech and racial incitement at bay,’ said Minister Bartolo emphasizing that both Malta and Estonia have a role to play together to promote and build security in Europe and academics can extend their support on the matter too.
Minister Bartolo said that the European security architecture is now being challenged, a new world disorder is now emerging, where might is right.
‘We have unfortunately not learnt from the past but have chosen the path of extinction. If diplomacy is not about empathy and understanding each other’s culture, than what is it for? It calls for making an effort to understand each other and look in the eyes of our enemy if we hope that this world will have a future.’
Minister Bartolo called on the importance of trying to find compromises, without imposing these on the defeated, but where both sides emerge as sovereign and have free choice. Compromises may be unwanted but the alternative is worse. As small states we have an important role to play. The more we are different in terms of our geographical characteristics, the more reason we have to join up and counter our insularity and inward looking perspectives.
Minister Bartolo appealed to MEDAC and the Estonian School of Diplomacy to keep reaching out to similar academic institutions to build a network of understanding especially with those in small states.
The signing of the agreement was also attended by the Estonian Ambassador to Malta, Paul Teesalu, Malta’s Ambassador to Estonia and Finland, Kenneth Vella and Prof. Godfrey Pirotta, MEDAC Chairman, Mr Ekke Nomm, Estonian School for Diplomacy Director and Prof. Stephen Calleya, MEDAC Director.