European Commission- Arab League liaison office opening next week

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(Embassy of Malta in Beijing)
Updated: 2009-10-12 15:22

The European Commission-Arab League liaison office, which Malta has been chosen to host, will be officially opened on Wednesday 14 October. The office will be inaugurated by Prime Minister of Malta Dr Lawrence Gonzi.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, as well as Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, will attend the opening ceremony. Both will have meetings with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Affairs of Malta Minister Dr Tonio Borg and the Foreign and European Affairs Standing Committee of the Maltese Parliament.

Experts from the European Commission and the Arab League, along with Maltese experts will work at the liaison office, which is aimed at coordinating dialogue between the EU and the Arab League.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Borg said: "Experience has shown that being members of the European Union has put us in a stronger position to broker dialogue between north and south; we are no longer a tiny nation trying to find our political position in this dialogue, we are indeed part of it.

"Being EU members has enabled us to raise the question of a permanent open channel to the Arab world. Our attendance at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) and our participation in the Gulf Cooperation Council meetings with the EU have given us an insight into Euro-Arab relations – something that was unthinkable outside membership."

He said the Euro-Arab dialogue initiative proves that EU membership did not dwarf Malta’s special relationship with the Arab world. On the contrary, said Dr Borg, it provided us with a tool to further and promote what has been at the heart of our foreign policy.