Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg holds several meetings at the U.N. in New York

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Joe Borg held a series of bilateral meetings in the fringes of the General Assembly that commenced its 54^th Session in New York on Monday. Dr. Joe Borg discussed at length Malta's EU accession process during his meetings with the EU Commissioner for External Relations, the Foreign Ministers of Italy and Spain and the Foreign Ministers of the applicant countries of Hungary, Latvia and the Czech Republic. Bilateral relations were also discussed with these Foreign Ministers as well as with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, the Foreign Minister of Jordan and the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority with whom issues of a regional nature were also taken up. A meeting was also held with US Under-Secretary of State, Mr. Tom Pickering.

Newly appointed EU External Relations Commissioner Mr. Chris Patten this morning re-assured Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg that the EU Commission Report on Malta will be published as scheduled in mid-October "with a view to recommending the opening of accession negotiations next year".

In reacting to Minister Dr. Joe Borg's up-date on Malta's progress in adopting the EU acquis, Commissioner Patten commented that "from what I hear the process with you is moving extremely smoothly."

The next steps in Malta's EU accession process were also discussed in a bilateral meeting that Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg had with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini. Mr. Dini stated that he did not see any reason why Malta will not manage to catch up with the more advanced group of applicants already in the negotiating process. In fact, it was only because Malta had frozen its application that Malta was not already with the first group. Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also raised several bilateral issues, in particular the finalisation of outstanding agreements and the continuation of discussions on the Fifth Malta-Italy Financial Protocol.

Foreign Minister Joe Borg also held a bilateral meeting with the Spanish Foreign Minister, Mr. Abel Matutes. In reacting to Foreign Minister Joe Borg's presentation of the state of play in Malta's EU application process, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain said, "I am aware that you are the country most ready for membership".

Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also met with the Hungarian Foreign Minister Dr. Janos Martonyi during which the two Ministers exchanged views on their respective countries' progress towards EU accession and their expectations from the up-coming Helsinki Summit. Dr. Martonyi stated that he expected the concept of a "Fast Track" to be progressively replaced by a situation where the first countries to join would be those who are most prepared in sufficient time before the next enlargement. The Ministers also agreed to press on with their endeavours to conclude an Investment Guarantee Agreement together with other bilateral agreements in the fields of Health, Culture and the Prevention of Crime and Drug Trafficking.

Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also held bilateral consultations with the Czech Foreign Minister Mr. Jan Kavan . Responding to Dr. Joe Borg's presentation of the state of play in Malta's accession process Mr. Kavan stated that he took it "virtually for granted that Malta will be invited to start negotiations at Helsinki". Mr. Kavan stressed the importance of the further strengthening of trade relations between the two countries and expressed the hope that new joint ventures could be set up with businesses from the two countries utilising Maltese trade know-how and Czech technology.

In a meeting with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg re-iterated Malta's support for the Palestinian cause. The fact that Malta's Permanent Representatives to the UN have for the last twenty-six years always held the position of Rapporteur to the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people, gave witness to this unwavering support, Dr. Borg said. On his part, Mr. Kaddoumi thanked Dr.Borg for Malta's support and expressed the hope that the positive signals of recent weeks will be transformed into a lasting peace in the region.

Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also met with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon Dr. Selem Hoss with whom he discussed the economic measures being taken by Lebanon to overcome the negative effects of fifteen years of war in his country. Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg gave an account of Malta's reforms in the field of indirect taxation, privatisation and tourism. The Lebanese Prime Minister showed a great interest in the transitional process that Malta has undergone and reacted positively to offers of technical support in these fields.

In another meeting with the Foreign Minister of Latvia, Mr. Indulis Berzins, both Ministers exchanged views on their experience to date regarding their respective countries' EU accession process. The Ministers agreed to co-operate closely on this matter. Discussions also focussed on bilateral relations with both Ministers agreeing to pursue, in particular, the conclusion of a Double Taxation Agreement and an Agreement on Tourism Co-operation.

Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also met his Jordanian Counterpart with whom he discussed new avenues of bilateral co-operation.

The Jordanian Minister expressed interest in seeking Malta's guidance in order to enhance his country's participation in the Euromed Process.

The Jordanian Minister referred to the positive experiences of Jordanian Diplomats at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies. He expressed the hope that educational co-operation in this field, as well as in the field of Tourism, could be strengthened further.

Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg also met with the United States Under-Secretary of State Mr. Tom Pickering who confirmed the good relations that exist between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister and the US Under-Secretary of State discussed specific bilateral issues particularly the enhancement of economic and trade relations and co-operation in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.

The discussions also focused on International Security and specifically Malta's contribution in the Mediterranean Region.