Palestinian Authority Chairman writes to Malta's Foreign Minister

Palestinian Authority Chairman writes to Malta's Foreign Minister

The Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, H.E. Yasser Arafat has written to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Guido de Marco, and expressed his appreciation for the congratulatory message that he received on the occasion of the successful achievement of the recent negotiations held in Maryland, USA, which led to the signing of an agreement with the Government of Israel.

In his message, Chairman Arafat underlined that "the international efforts which peace lovers in the world exerted, had a great effect on the relaunch of the peace process". He added that these efforts had put the peace process "onto its right path".

In concluding his message, Chairman Arafat extended his best personal wishes to Professor de Marco and augured that Malta would achieve "growth and development".

A few days earlier, Professor de Marco had written to Chairman Arafat and described the "new spirit of dialogue and cooperation...injected into the Peace Process" as an "advantage not only of the Palestinian People, but also to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region as a whole".

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also dispatched letters of congratulations to US Secretary of State, H.E. Madeleine Albright and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, H.E. Ariel Sharon.

In his letter to the US Secretary of State, Professor de Marco stated that the Government of Malta had always viewed the situation in the Middle East as crucial to the determination of the political, economic and social stability in the Mediterranean Region. The Deputy Prime Minister also signified the role bestowed upon the United States by the terms of the Agreement and added that this role would help foster and ensure that the objectives of peace become a reality.

In his letter to the Foreign Minister of Israel, Professor de Marco described the Wye Plantation Accord as a bold step and pledged the support of the Government of Malta for the agreements reached. Professor de Marco augured that "an agreement secured at the highest political level, will be transformed into one which will guide the actions of the peoples in the region".