Government & Politics
Israel wants stronger economic ties with Malta
By Ruth Alice Davies
Jan 22, 2007 - 7:28:39 PM

In an exclusive interview with MaltaMedia Online News, Israeli Ambassador to Italy Gideon Meir said that he wishes to see enhanced cooperation between Malta and his country, especially where economy is concerned. While stating that Malta and Israel share a very good relationship, he stated that “it is missing more economic and cultural ties”.

Ambassador Gideon Meir also said that Israel has much to offer Malta, particularly in the field of solar energy. The two countries share very similar weather patterns, however, whereas Israel is generating energy the cheaper way from the sun, Malta’s progress in this regard lags behind.

“This is something we could share with Malta. I want to see much more economic and cultural exchanges,” explained the Ambassador, adding that this wish of his was communicated to Maltese MPs and Mayors on a meeting on Friday afternoon.

Referring to Malta’s accession to the European Union (EU) and how this has contributed towards bettering bilateral relationships between the island and Israel, Mr. Gideon Meir said that “It is no question that Malta as part of the EU, made up of 27 states, has a more important role”.  Speaking of Malta in the context of a member of the EU he added that the country “has evolved because it has a vote as any other state”. In this light he furthermore added that “We are counting on Malta to have a more balanced role in the Middle East conflict,” mainly because of Malta’s balanced geopolitical position. The Ambassador also stated that through the EU “Europe has changed for the better and there is a much better dialogue between Israel and the Union. In this light, Malta, as a part of Europe has a very important role.”

The situation within the Israeli Parliament recently made the headlines with the election of Mr. Raleb Majadele’s appointment as Israeli’s Labour Party Science and Technology Minister. Being one of the few Arab Muslims within the Israeli cabinet, Mr. Gideon Meir explained that Mr. Majadele’s appointment “is significant because the Arab community in Israel is made up of over a million Arabs and it is important that they have a voice within the government”. While the Ambassador emphasized that Israeli members of Parliament can be elected by the citizens as occurs in free democracies, he expressed himself saddened by some Arab members of Parliament who “are destructing everything that has to do with Israel. They have all the right to be elected but they are sitting in Parliament and aligning with our worst enemies.”

With Hamas at the helm of the Palestinian parliament, Mr. Gideon Meir said that the already precarious ties between Israel and Palestine have worsened. The Ambassador expressed his concern about how the “terror organization is calling to destroy the state of Israel, a member state of United Nations”. In this regard he credited EU efforts to impose three conditions following the election of Hamas, namely for Palestine to recognize the Israeli state, to recognize the declaration signed between Israel and Palestinian authorities as well as renounce from violence and terrorism. “The Hamas is saying no to all three of them. It is very important that we insist to proceed on the application of these three conditions because I don’t know about any other country in the world, forming part of the United Nations, that has existed under the threat of terrorism. This is also a moral question. Some people have to wake up and realize that this is a very dangerous approach,” said the Ambassador.

In the upcoming days, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to discuss the revival of the Middle East road map. However, Mr. Gideon Meir believes there is no need for the roadmap to be revived because ultimately he believes that it is still “live and kicking”. The Ambassador explained whenever a problem develops in the Arab world, a new approach is sought. Mr. Gideon Meir said that an approach to the conflict in the Middle East already exists through the roadmap. “ Israel accepted this approach. The problem is that Palestine is not has not implemented one of the callings of the roadmap, to renounce violence and terrorism. There is no alternative – for us it was very hard to accept,” said the Ambassador, adding that the Israeli point of view in the conflict mirrors that of the roadmap, with no change to its sequence.