The Public Servant: Switzerland 2.0? Why Malta’s Constitutional Neutrality Is A Vital Tool For International Diplomacy
In recent weeks we have seen a healthy dose of public discussion about whether Malta’s constitutional neutrality remains the most appropriate foreign and security policy orientation to apply in an increasingly insecure and volatile world.
Malta’s recent hosting of two days of talks between American and Chinese diplomats certainly backs up the arguments put forward on one side of this debate. It is a fine coup and merits praise.
It confirms there is truth in the cliché that our neutrality remains a powerful asset that helps Malta punch above its weight in the international arena, when leveraged to its full potential.
Whether the talks prove successful in easing tensions between the US and China will have to wait until a possible meeting between their leaders in November. Regardless, the key point here is that the world’s two largest economies selected Malta as the ideal space for them to come together to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues.
It’s not our Mediterranean sunshine and cuisine that makes this possible. It is our neutrality, coupled with our status as a non NATO EU Member State, that does.
Malta’s legacy of facilitating dialogue between the biggest adversaries and on the most complex matters is well documented. Beyond honouring our diplomatic feats of the past, however, we must continue to look forward.
Malta’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
One of the most pressing regional rivalries, with global implications, in which Malta should leverage its neutrality and play a facilitating role is the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Malta’s friendly relations with the Arab world have been nurtured in no small part through the principled application of two policy strands. Firstly, that of providing humanitarian support when required, as during the 2011 Libyan uprising. Secondly, our consistent promotion of the peaceful resolution of conflicts in diplomatic fora. It was Malta that in 2006 took the initiative to bring together a EU-Arab League Foreign Ministerial Meeting, the first of which took place here in February 2008.
Malta is also in the process of deepening ties with Israel across various sectors including trade, agriculture, and water. This is a sensible approach, despite the current Israeli government’s democratic backsliding and its policy of extending illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Nevertheless, we would be remiss to abandon our historical support for Palestinian statehood. Enhancing relations with Israel should be seen as complementary to sustaining our advocacy of a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
A timely meeting on reviving the Middle East Peace Process was held on the margins of last week’s UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister Ian Borg reaffirmed Malta’s support for the Two-State Solution, but remarked that compromises were necessary for all sides to build a common future.
He is not wrong. Palestinians remain impoverished and subject to daily raids, unlawful killings, and dispossession at the hands of Israeli forces. On the other hand, decades of corruption and disunity in the Palestinian leadership, as well as terrorist acts by Hamas, have undermined the Palestinian cause.
Nevertheless, prospects for fulfilling the Palestinian people’s right to establish their independent state are in arguably their most promising moment since talks broke down in 2014. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman has explicitly linked a possible normalisation of relations with Israel — long coveted by their common patron, the US — to the resolution of the Palestinian question.
After decades of violence, mistrust, and false dawns, a just solution may be within reach.
We should leverage our kinship with the Arab world, improving relations with Israel, and the trust recently shown in Malta by the Americans, by offering our full support for and facilitation of the resumption of peace talks.
Why? From the perspective of Malta’s national interest, returning to our historical legacy of proactive diplomacy and providing a meeting place for peaceful conflict resolution would help reset and rebuild our reputation as a State.
More broadly, the international community urgently needs a diplomatic win to restore confidence in the legal and institutional structures created to prevent interstate conflict.
Most importantly, it is time for Palestinians to know a life without occupation.
The Public Servant is a new Lovin Malta series aiming to make Malta better. Having verified their credentials, Lovin Malta has agreed to keep this individual’s identity concealed.
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