Italy and Malta maintain a strong and friendly relationship, distinguished by deep-rooted political, cultural, social and commercial ties, as well as shared historical experience and tradition.

In the last year, these bilateral relations were further enriched by significant political highlights, including the visit of President of Republic Sergio Mattarella for the Arraiolos group, as well as many reciprocal visits and meetings between Maltese and Italian Ministries and delegations.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning the visit to Malta of an Italian high-level mission to promote the candidacy of Rome as host city for EXPO 2030.

On a multilateral level, I am pleased to highlight the convergence on a notable number of EU key dossiers as well as the ongoing cooperation between Italy and Malta during the Maltese Presidency of the UN Security Council for the 2023-2024 term.

Our close relations endured the global pandemic and yet remain today stronger than ever, despite the increasingly challenging geo-political scenario.

I refer to the ongoing military confrontation in Eastern Europe, but also to our common concern related to the stabilization process in Libya, as well as the ongoing dynamics in the “Broaden Mediterranean”, which include – among others - the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

In these challenging times, we can celebrate the unique and strong friendship between our respective people, which started long before the two States were born and benefitted from the economic and political support granted by Italy to the Archipelago.

Examples of this support were the five Financial Protocols (which granted around €800 million between the 1980s and the early 2000s) and the political support for Malta’s membership to the EU, fulfilled also through substantial technical backing to align with EU legislation and standards.

Today, the relations with Malta can be defined, in my opinion, as strong and friendly, from the highest institutional level to people-to-people contacts.

In this regard, I would like to focus on facts and insights drawn from the following figures:

1. The position of Italy as a principal commercial partner for Malta. In 2022, Italy confirmed its position as the first supplier country, with around 20% of the market share, as well as the second destination market for Maltese exports.

398,000 – According to the NSO, this is the number of Italian citizens that visited the Maltese Archipelago in 2022, with a +120% increase compared to 2021 figures.

After the pandemic, we expect this number to increase steadily well above the half million visitors, starting from this upcoming summer.

227,106 – This is the number of Maltese visitors in Italy in 2022. Italy has long been the main destination for Maltese outbound tourists and last year almost 40% of Maltese chose Italy as their holiday destination.

36% - according to EU data, this is the percentage of Maltese citizens who can fluently understand and communicate in the Italian language. Based on my personal experience, I believe this percentage is very conservative, as I can confirm that, everywhere you go in Malta, you can speak and hear Italian!

13,838 – the number of Italian citizens registered as residents in Malta according to the 2021 Maltese census - and confirmed by our own daily experience at the embassy.

Italians account for almost 10% of foreign residents and represents today the first non-Maltese community in the Archipelago. This number is the result of a constant increasing trend, made possible by the warm hospitality of the Maltese citizens and by the thriving opportunities generated by the economic and people-to-people exchanges between the countries.

Around 170 – the number of Italian professors teaching a vast range of subjects in the Maltese education sector, from Primary Schools to University.

50 – the number of years of activity of the Italian Mission in the Cooperation and Defence (MICCD) in Malta, the longest mission in the history of Italian Defence. I invite you to stay tuned, as we will be celebrating together this historical milestone in the upcoming months.

More than 70 – the number of cultural events operated and supported by the Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in the last twelve months.

50 people – the backbone of the “Sistema Italia” in Malta, which includes the staff at the Embassy and Italian Cultural Institute, the personnel of the Italian Armed Forces, the Italian-Maltese Chamber of Commerce, the Committee for the Italians Abroad and the Dante Alighieri Society.

Last, but not least, there are 5 Italian managers leading Maltese football teams, including the national team.

The embassy remains constantly engaged to further strengthen bilateral cooperation at all levels and improve services for the Italian citizens residing in Malta.

Ambassador Fabrizio Romano

To this end, I have the pleasure to confirm that we are improving the services guaranteed by the entire “Sistema Italia” in Malta, also through a structural modernization of the premises as well as an enhancement of our presence on social media.

To this end, I invite our Maltese friends and Italian citizens in Malta to remain updated with all the initiatives, by following our website and the official profiles on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.