Ambassador of Malta George Saliba Maltaís Jump Into Europe by John Shaw For thousands of years the people of Malta have lived quietly on the periphery of Europe. Now the citizens of this small island nation, which is located in middle of the Mediterranean Sea, have decided to take a decisive plunge into Europe. George Saliba, Maltaís ambassador to the United States, says his country is determined to deepen its involvement with the nations to its north. ìWe look at ourselves as Europeans,î Saliba says. ìOur closest relations are with Europe. Malta has a good relationship with North Africa, particularly Libya. But our future is with Europe. Itís a fact that we need a linkage somewhere. Creating that linkage with Europe is a natural fit. The government is all out to join the European Union.î The ambassador eagerly describes the historic, geographic and economic factors that have molded Malta which lies between Europe and North Africa, about 60 miles south of Sicily. Malta is about twice the size of Washington, D.C, with a population of just under 400,000. It is on an archipelago in which only the three largest islands are inhabited. Saliba says that Maltaís economy is being transformed and that these fundamental changes are supported by the nationís two main political parties, the ruling Nationalist Party and the opposition Labor Party. To prepare for the economic challenges of the future, Malta is cutting its budget deficit, lowering trade barriers, implementing privatization and deregulation plans, and reducing price controls. ìWe are committed to restructuring our economy. Both parties agree on this. On economic policy, there is not a fundamental difference between the two parties. There is a difference about whether we should join the European Union,î Saliba says. ìThe Labor Party is saying itís not time for us to join, but we should have a good relationship with Europe. The government wants Malta to join the EU and to be in the first group of the EUís enlargement in 2003,î he adds. Malta has had an association agreement with the European Union since the early 1970s. It formally applied to join the EU in 1990. The Labor Party dominated Maltaís political scene from 1971 to 1987. The Nationalist Party has been the governing party since 1987, except for 22 months from 1996 to 1998. When the Labor Party briefly regained power in 1996 it suspended Maltaís application to join the EU, and it has not ruled out withdrawing Malta from the EU if it returns to power after membership has been secured. But the current government is pushing forward with accession talks with the EU and hopes to sign an agreement next year. The European Union is set to expand from its current membership of 15 countries in the coming decade. Engaging and friendly, the ambassador works from a townhouse embassy on Connecticut Avenue near Dupont Circle. Saliba, 57, is an experienced diplomat who has worked in virtually all of the capitals that are crucial to Maltaís foreign policy. The ambassador grew up in Malta with a strong interest in the outside world. He recalls as a young boy reading newspaper articles to his grandfather, who had lost his sight, and listening to the BBCís ìWorld Serviceî radio broadcasts. ìAt that time, I never dreamed of being a diplomat. When I was younger there wasnít even a Maltese diplomatic service. We didnít achieve our independence until 1964,î he says. Saliba graduated from Plater College in Oxford with a diploma in social studies in 1968 and then earned a masterís degree in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins Universityís School of Advanced International Studies in 1970. He returned home with a deep interest in Middle East affairs but no clear career plans. He first accepted a job at the University of Malta as a clerk in the finance department and later lectured on politics at the university. Saliba was a regular columnist for a Maltese language weekly and also worked as a television and radio commentator. He was secretary-manager of the countryís leading agricultural cooperative and later was the general manager of Animal Feedmill. His first foray into diplomacy occurred in 1974 when he took a job in the press office of the Kuwait Embassy in Malta. He later founded the Maltese Arab Friendship society. Saliba became a non-resident ambassador of Malta to the Gulf Cooperation Council and to North and South Yemen in 1981. The job required frequent travel to the region and gave him on-the-ground insights regarding Middle East politics. He was appointed as Maltaís resident ambassador to Saudi Arabia, living in Riyadh from 1985 to 1987. Among other things, he worked to arrange secure loans from the Saudis to help Malta develop its economy. Saliba was then selected as Maltaís ambassador to Libya. He lived in Tripoli from 1987 to 1992 and eventually became dean of the diplomatic corps. ìI found Libya a most interesting place to be a diplomat. Malta had no hidden agenda with Libya. They obviously knew we were not going to overthrow the regime, so Libya could be free and open with us. This put us in a good position vis-a-vis Libya,î he says. Saliba recalls that diplomats from other nations, aware of Maltaís close relationship with Libya, would sometimes ask him for insights into developments there. He also remembers fondly weekend visits to Libyaís beaches that he, his wife Yvonne, and their three children would take with other diplomatic families. ìThe only rule was we would relax and not talk about our work,î he says. Saliba began a four-year stint as Maltaís ambassador to Russia in 1993 and was constantly fascinated by President Boris Yeltsin, his succession of prime ministers and the comings and going of various governments. ìThere was a lot of spectacle. Change was going on all the time. One of my colleagues used to say that it was a good thing that our governments didnít realize how interesting it was in Moscow or they would have required us to pay for being there,î Saliba says. Saliba became his nationís ambassador to the United Nations in 1997. The adjustment from bilateral diplomacy to multilateral diplomacy was complex and daunting. ìI had never done multilateral diplomacy before. It was totally new and it took me about a year to understand how the UN worked,î he says. ìMultilateral diplomacy is certainly different. You are dealing with equals. People are coming up to you all the time to discuss things and everyone at the General Assembly has one vote. In bilateral diplomacy you are dealing with a government, with ministers and officials,î he adds. The ambassador says that Malta has long been deeply engaged in UN affairs and takes its membership in the United Nations very seriously. ìMalta has always had a very interesting position at the UN. We have been able to do things that other countries canít. For example, a Maltese diplomat started Law of the Sea. Only Malta could offer such a proposal. If someone else did it would be suspect. People would question, ëWho put them up to it?íî Saliba ca me to Washington in 1999 to serve as Maltaís ambassador to the United States. He has focused on finding ways to expand American investment to Malta and also to boost tourism. When urging American firms to invest in Malta, he notes that his nation has strong service and manufacturing sectors and is modernizing its economy. ìWe are trying to attract more and more information technology firms. We want to attract companies which are expanding in Europe. We are a perfect platform for many reasons,î he says. He cites his nationís political stability, safety, clear commercial laws and its flexible, well-educated work force that speaks English as one of its two native languages. Saliba says that Malta, with its ties to both Europe and North Africa, can serve as an access point to more than 400 million consumers. The ambassador also works with the Maltese Tourism Authority to encourage Americans to travel to his nation, which receives about a million visitors each year. ìIn the United States we canít market Malta for the beach, the sun and the sand. We have to market Malta for our history, our culture, as a center of culture,î he says. Malta has been inhabited for about 7,000 years and had a sophisticated religious center long before those of Sumer and Egypt. Malta was first colonized by the Phoenicians. Both the Phoenicians and Carthaginians established ports and trading settlements on the island. The Romans launched a raid on Malta during the First Punic War with Carthage and then took over the islands in 218 BC at the start of the Second Punic War. St. Paul was shipwrecked in Malta in 60 AD as he was being taken to Rome for a trial. According to the Gospel of St. Luke, Paul appreciated the hospitality of the Maltese people during the winter he spent there. Malta became part of the Byzantine Empire in the sixth century and remained so for several centuries before Arab invaders seized it. The Arabs, who left a strong imprint on Maltaís culture and language, were in turn driven out in 1090 by band of Norman adventurers. Malta became an appendage of Sicily for more than 400 years and was sold and resold to lords and barons from Swabia, Aquitaine, Aragon and Castile. Charles V of Spain ceded Malta to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in 1523. For nearly three centuries, the knights built towns, palaces, churches, gardens and forts and fought off invaders, including an army dispatched by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1565. The knights fled Malta in 1798 as one of Napoleonís armies invaded the island. Several years later, the British helped evict the French from Malta; it voluntarily became part of British empire in 1814. Malta was a key military and naval fortress and served as the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet. Malta survived sieges by the Germans and Italians during World War II. Malta won its independence in 1964. A decade later Maltaís constitution was revised and it became a republic within the commonwealth. Saliba is eager to recount this remarkable history to American audiences. The embassy has helped organize a lecture for next month at the Smithsonian on Maltaís huge megalithic temples, some of which are more than 5,000 years old and predate the Egyptian pyramids by several thousand years. The ambassador is also looking for ways to promote interest in the archives of the Knights of St. John. Maltaís embassy in Washington has two diplomats. Saliba consults with Congress and the administration on a number of commercial and technical issues and travels to states to meet with business and local government officials. The embassy works with several honorary consulates that have been set up across the United States. ìOur strategy is to go wherever the opportunity arises. We are a small embassy with limited resources, so we have to network through other organizations. This is a very large country, and it is difficult for us to cover,î he says. ìMy main role is to make Malta known,î he adds. ìWe have one big advantage: We are a democracy that shares common values with the United States. We were allies in World War II and have had good relations. There is a strong basis to build a good relationship.î John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.