Prime Minister Robert Abela emphasised the importance of Germany as a trading partner during bilateral talks with Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.

Abela and Scholz discussed economic relations, migration, energy and global security during their talks, the OPM said in a statement about the visit.

The prime minister was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, Malta’s Ambassador to Germany Vanni Xuereb and OPM head of secretariat Glenn Micallef during his visit to Berlin.

Abela said that Germany is Malta’s strongest trading partner and said there was scope for that trading relationship to grow further.

He highlighted high-end manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services and aviation as examples of sectors which both countries could mutually benefit from growing.

Abela also said that he and Scholz had discussed the importance of having strong air links between the two countries. Germany’s aviation sector has struggled to take off following the pandemic decline and Air Malta no longer flies to Frankfurt – once one of its leading destinations.

Abela and Scholz receive a salute. Photo: OPM

The two leaders also discussed irregular migration, with Malta emphasising the importance of battling human traffickers and arguing that traffickers should also be brought to justice before courts of law. Abela also pushed for more dialogue with border countries like Libya and Tunisia, the OPM said.

Malta’s prime minister said he and his German counterpart had also discussed global security challenges and Malta’s current position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“The fact that we hosted high-level talks to achieve peace in Ukraine and that a Malta-led UN resolution about Israel and Gaza was adopted by the Security Council shows our commitment to achieve peace in different regions,” Abela said.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) following the visit, Abela described the meeting as a "very positive" one that showed "great potential for enhanced collaboration in emerging sectors". 

Abela's meeting with Scholz comes one day after he met Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna, as well as OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid. Malta is poised to assume the chair of the regional security organisation next year, with confirmation of that expected at a meeting to be held in Skopje at the end of the week.