Foreign Affairs Periodical

Series of talks on Malta's relations with other states - The links and ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign AffairsTonio Borg, and in collaboration with Embassies and High Commissions present in Malta, started a series of Talks on Malta’s relations with other states in October 2010.

Following an opening speech by Dr Borg, President Emeritus Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici delivered a speech on relations between Malta and Italy. Afterwards the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy Efisio Luigi Marras, addressed guests prior to a closing speech by Dr Borg.

Prehistory, Ancient History and Beyond

Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici started off his speech by saying that for so long in prehistory and ancient history, one could not speak of relations between two separate entities because the destinies of the Maltese Islands and those of the nearest part of Italy were one and the same. The Maltese Islands were deemed to form part of the Sicilian archipelago.

President Emeritus moves on to give a brief overview on the relations between Malta and Italy/Sicily as the common fate continued with the Phoenicians’ arrival in Malta. After the Carthaginians held sway in all the Islands of the western Mediterranean, the Romans came after a long and much written-about wars, finally overcame the Carthaginians, taking over both Sicily and Malta. Malta and Italy were both within the Byzantine party of the Roman Empire, and were both overran by the Arabs, who left indelible marks. For the next five hundred years and until the arrival of the Knights of St.John, Sicily and Malta shared the Rulers and their Viceroys and very much the same institutions. The first indication of differentiation can be seen in the Abbot Gilbert’s report to the Emperor Frederick II in 1240.

Malta benefitted economically from being considered part and parcel of the Kingdom of Sicily. In the words of Capitoli of Messina of 1460, the free entry was allowed to the cotton Malta then produced and exported. Export of grain to Malta was also freely permitted.

The first real separation arrived in 1530 when Malta’s Common Emperor Charles V saw fit to grant the fief of Malta to the Knights of St.John. During the long period of the Order’s stay on these Islands, the titular appurtenance to the Kingdom of Sicily was formally served. Malta still imported grain and other food from Sicily. Its jurisconsults and also most of its medical doctors studied in Sicily. Culturally, with Italian as our official language and as the lingua franca within the Order, Malta was very much a part of Italy. During the brief French occupation and our forefathers’ rebellion, the Sicilian connection became again vital.

Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Celebrates New Foreign ...

. The new quarterly publication devoted to Macedonian foreign policy and relations with other regions and countries, is the first of its kind and brings Macedonia on par with the many other European countries which boast similar forums for informed comment and discussion on key policy issues.

The arrival of the new journal was especially welcome in light of the enhanced need to articulate Macedonia’s foreign policy and desired relations with the outside world at a time when the country has assumed official EU candidate status and several other important regional issues, such as Kosovo final status and NATO expansion are going on.

Considering the almost constant existential threats of various kinds of neighbors in this country since 1991 - on issues ranging from the Macedonian name, religious institutions, territorial integrity and the identity and ethnic language - it could be argued that the existence such an idea-based vehicle is long overdue. However, these very crises, and a slowness on the part of previous governments, were probably to blame for the holdup.

Carrefour, which will be published four times a year in the prints of 1000, is a bright soft cover magazine of good length (issue is 152 pages.) Published in English, and selected articles are translated into other European languages, such as German, Italian and French. Since the magazine is explicitly aimed at the diplomatic community and NGOs in Skopje, it is not expected to be available to subscribers or pay off, although officials involved in the state that the items will be available on the outside world in case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site.

The editorial team, led by Editor-in-Chief Pajo Avirovik and Deputy Editor Ivica Bocevski, did a formidable job of creating the first issue, devoted to Macedonia after 15 years as an independent state, while enlisting many notable figures to contribute “blind’ to a publication which did not yet exist- as any editor can attest, a remarkable feat.

Among those who contributed to the first issue of Crossroads were former Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov, former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Kljusev, the current US Ambassador to Macedonia, Gillian Milovanovic, German EU parliamentarian Doris Pack and Alain Le Roy, former EU Special Representative in Macedonia. Along with several longer essays by Macedonian and other European authors, including the Macedonian Ambassador to the EU, Blerim Reka and OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the issue is rounded off impressively with an engaging interview with longtime former Turkish Prime Minister SˆšÃ‰Â¬Âºleyman Demirel.