The government will be seeking membership of the OECD in the coming months, Foreign Minister Ian Borg said. 

Addressing parliament on Tuesday evening, Borg said the government is to formally ask to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development soon.

The OECD is an international organisation comprised of 38 countries that collaborate to promote economic growth, stability, and improved living standards worldwide. 

OECD membership was one of the PL promises in its electoral manifesto which had said that, as a member, Malta would be at the heart of political decisions taken by the most developed countries around the globe.

Borg said he recently met the OECD's secretary general at the organisation's headquarters in Paris. 

"The government is eagerly waiting to start discussions on the terms, conditions and the process needed for Malta's possible accession.

"Malta is a member of the European Union, but we also have a global outlook," the foreign minister said.

The OECD has a central role in bringing about stability, development and international progress and Malta had the same goals, principles and values, Borg said.

As a member, Malta would also contribute to the OECD's geographic diversity and advocate on behalf of small island developing states.