Speaker meets Chinese dignitary

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consulta-tive Conference, paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anton Tabone.

"The two sides expressed their satisfaction at the smooth and stable relations between Malta and the People's Republic of China and augured that bilateral relations could be further enhanced, particularly those at the parliamentary level," the Speaker's Office said.

Referring to Malta's membership of the European Union, Mr Tabone said that the Mediterranean dimension remained high on Malta's agenda. He briefed Mr Jia on Malta's initiatives in the Euro-Mediterranean region, particularly the holding of the Fourth Euro-Med Speakers' Conference in Malta last February and the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly of Mediterranean States.

Mr Jia requested Malta's support towards the facilitation of relations between China and the EU.