Malta seeks to grow ties with Qatar, lauds Doha’s mediation prowess

Doha, Qatar: Terming Qatar s diplomacy quite extraordinary , Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Tourism of the...

Doha, Qatar: Terming Qatar’s diplomacy ‘quite extraordinary’, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Malta, H E Christopher Cutajar has said that Qatar’s mediatory prowess within the region and beyond remains unequivocal.

In an exclusive interview with The Peninsula during his visit to Qatar last week, Cutajar further said that Malta and Qatar have an extremely positive relationship built on mutual trust and a shared commitment to promote peace and prosperity in their respective regions and beyond. The second round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of Qatar and Malta was held on Tuesday in Doha. The Qatari side was chaired by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi while the Maltese delegation was headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Tourism of Malta.

He noted with Malta and Qatar’s relationship having witnessed a notable intensification of bilateral relations since the opening of Malta’s Embassy in Doha in 2021 coupled by the introduction of direct flights will surely see the consolidation of this friendship in coming years.

“We need to engage in more in-depth discussions, similar to those we had earlier today (Tuesday), to agree on a long-term programme of bilateral cooperation on topics of mutual interest. Our similar foreign policy objectives provide us with the necessary impetus to pursue high-level exchanges on new areas of cooperation both at a bilateral and regional level, which would certainly provide a structured foundation for deeper, long-term engagement between the two countries,” he added.

Christopher Cutajar said that resumption of Qatar Airways flights to Malta from July 2 this year offers a direct connection between Malta and Qatar. “They are not only offering a new mode of connectivity for the two destinations but they are offering also the possibility for Maltese to be able to visit places in Asia and for our sizeable diaspora in Australia to be able to reach Malta. We’ve got also a sizeable expatriate community working in Malta that has to visit their countries of origin frequently during the year and that is helping a lot for them to get connected via Qatar. And now, we need to have Maltese coming to Qatar to understand the culture and the history of Qatar.”