WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE HON. JOE BORG, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT OPENING OF MEETING OF MALTA'S HONORARY CONSULS IN ITALY

It is with great pleasure and gratitude that I welcome you and your spouses to Malta.

This second meeting of Malta's Honorary Consuls in Italy is being held in Valletta, the capital of the country whose interests you promote in your respective regions.

The first meeting was held in Rome three years ago. Many of you attended that meeting. For some, however, this is a new experience. I am quite certain that all of you, even those attending for the first time, will contribute in this dialogue amongst friends aimed at bettering our service.

Your role is very delicate and important. Quite often, you are asked to respond to enquiries about Malta, its achievements and its aspirations. Your interlocutors may vary from students to investors, from tourists to historians, from importers to exporters. Whatever the questions asked, you are expected to give answers that are comprehensive and transmit a fair image of the Maltese State, its institutions and its people.

On a number of other occasions, you are also called upon to safeguard Malta's interests or those of its citizens. Your sense of dedication is of great comfort to our Ministry. Enhancing our outreach all over Italy, you are an extremely valuable resource that helps us overcome many difficulties posed by limited human and financial resources.

At this gathering, my first official meeting with our Honorary Consuls in Italy, I need hardly stress the importance attached by my Government to relations with Italy, the closest of Malta's neighbours. This closeness is not merely geographical. Ever since my country joined the international community as an independent state, Italy has been a generous and reliable partner - a friendship that has translated itself into an ongoing, intense collaboration.

Apart from the more traditional cultural, economic and political co-operation, Malta and Italy are also working closely to face the new regional realities now emerging.

At your first meeting, discussion centred around the functions of honorary consuls with an emphasis on Malta's promotion in Italy. It will be interesting to hear your views and experiences on this subject. Your presence often supplements that effort undertaken by Malta's own diplomatic and trade representatives. Your feedback during this meeting can help us identify problems and solutions in a joint effort to improve our work and performance.

During your days here in Malta, you will also have the opportunity to renew old friendships and acquaintances and to see for yourself what has been achieved so far in the Island's development.

Malta neither is, nor does it want to be, immune to change. We are part of that regional, historical process that has brought with it betterment in living standards, consolidation of the rule of law and greater respect for human rights. Within this context, we view Malta's future membership of the European Union as a primary political objective.

In 1998, my Government reactivated Malta's application for membership of the European Union. Since then, much ground has been covered and significant progress has been made. Screening and harmonisation of legislation have progressed at a pace that has gained the admiration of both member and candidate states of the European Union. More than anything else, though, it has bolstered our self-confidence as a people.

Four decades ago we embarked on a process that successfully transformed our Island's economy. Today, we are further consolidating Malta's social and economic infrastructure to enable us to participate as partners of a European Union whose importance need hardly be stressed in an environment of globalisation.

The Maltese people have yet again shown their will and ability to face the challenge of change.

Last month, I outlined Malta's foreign policy objectives to our ambassadors. Though foremost, Malta's membership of the European Union cannot be viewed in isolation. It is complemented by an active pursuit of the common interests of the Mediterranean region, the best possible bilateral relations and an effective participation in multilateral fora.

Though daunting, our objectives are not over-ambitious. They require a great sense of responsibility and determination. As a Government we are willing to shoulder this responsibility convinced, as we are, that the Maltese people have the necessary determination to face the challenge.

Needless to say, this also imposes a number of heavy burdens including that of projecting an image of Malta abroad that is a fair reflection of the true state of affairs. In this, your role and contribution are of extreme importance.

You are part of an indivisible whole. So also are our common objectives. None of them should be seen or considered in isolation. Though each specific position or function necessarily carries a specialised role, it is important to view every single office as essential in the execution of Malta's foreign policy. That includes Honorary Consuls.

I am a great believer in the usefulness of such meetings. They generate fruitful discussion and a frank exchange of views. They also provide us with the opportunity to take stock and review activities that still need to be undertaken.

Your work is extremely useful. For this hard work, I thank all of you here today. I look at you not just as honorary consuls who process documents and assist Maltese nationals. Important as these functions are, they are but a part of what you do. You are often Malta's shop window to your regions of Italy. Your very presence and activities promote Maltese culture, tourism and trade generating interest in Malta, which, in turn, is fundamental in attracting investment to Malta.

I would like to thank you for all this range of activities that you carry out whilst wishing you a very pleasant stay in Malta. I trust that you will have fruitful deliberations during the course of the meeting

Thank You.