The Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade ( mt, Ministeru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u Ewropej u l-Kummerċ) is responsible for maintaining Malta's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The current minister is

Ian Borg Ian Borg (born 28 February 1986) is a lawyer and Maltese politician who serves as Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade. Ian Borg has been serving as a Member of Parliament since 2013. Early life and family Borg was born on 28 F ...

. The ministry is headquartered at Palazzo Parisio, a historic building situated on Merchants Street in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

History

Malta attained full independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1964 and has maintained independent, official diplomatic relations with other nations since then. The ministry moved to its current location, within the Palazzo Parisio, in 1973, although the building itself was built in the 1700s and was once occupied by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

during his invasion of Malta, as part of the

Egyptian campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

. The Palazzo Parisio has housed certain government operations starting in 1886 with Malta's General Post Office and, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the nation's Audit Office.

Diplomacy

The ministry oversees Malta's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organizations, including the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and the Council of Europe. The ministry also holds responsibility for matters related to foreign trade,

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and travel

visas Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

. The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

is always listed first in Malta's

Order of Precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

of foreign ambassadors and other heads of mission, regardless of the incumbent nuncio's time in office. The nuncio is then followed by a traditional precedence based on the foreign representatives' length of appointment. Several foreign missions to Malta, including those to large nations like Brazil and Japan, are accredited to it through

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

in Rome, Italy. There are no Maltese diplomatic missions physically located in South America.

Libya

In 2011 and 2012, the ministry was involved in international efforts to address the

First Libyan Civil War The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libya ...

, in part because of Malta's geographic proximity to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and the history of refugees and illegal immigrants leaving Libya for Malta. Refugee camps and the handling of matters of immigration and visitor status are the responsibility of the ministry. Foreign Minister Borg has called for Libya's

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

to accede to the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

, something the African nation had not previously done under Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 35, 53, 46, N, 14, 30, 42, E, region:MT, display=title

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Foreign relations of Malta Foreign Affairs

History

Diplomacy

Libya

See also

References

External links