Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08VALLETTA146
2008-04-09 11:42:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Valletta
Cable title:
SCENESETTER FOR U/S LEVEY APR 15-17 VISIT TO MALTA
how-toVZCZCXRO7403 OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV DE RUEHVT #0146 1001142 ZNY SSSSS ZZH O 091142Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY VALLETTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1488 RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T VALLETTA 000146
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
TREASURY FOR COLLEEN EDDY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018
TAGS: KTFN PTER IR EFIN PARM MT
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U/S LEVEY APR 15-17 VISIT TO MALTA
REF: VALLETTA 132
Classified By: Ambassador Molly Bordonaro, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
S E C R E T VALLETTA 000146
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
TREASURY FOR COLLEEN EDDY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018
TAGS: KTFN PTER IR EFIN PARM MT
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U/S LEVEY APR 15-17 VISIT TO MALTA
REF: VALLETTA 132
Classified By: Ambassador Molly Bordonaro, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (S) U/S Levey: Embassy Valletta looks forward to your
upcoming visit to Malta. Composed of several tiny islands in
the Mediterranean, Malta's small size and population
(400,000) belies a relatively important strategic and
geopolitical role. Malta joined the EU in 2004, adopting the
Euro as its currency and joining the Schengen visa zone
earlier this year. One third of the world's maritime traffic
passes by or through Malta, with some 1.5 million containers
passing through Malta's Freeport each year (80-90 percent of
that amount is trans-shipped, and the Iranian shipping line
IRISL uses Malta's Freeport as a hub). Until several years
ago there was no Maltese Customs presence in the Freeport,
but the USG has invested heavily there, standing up what is
now rated as one of the most professional Customs operations
in Europe, with its headquarters at a $2.1 million
VACIS-equipped warehouse, all donated by the U.S.
2. (S) Your visit comes on the heels of a very close early
March election in which the center-right Nationalist Party
won re-election by less than 2,000 votes. In recent years
the Nationalist government has worked closely with us on a
number of counter-terrorism and non-proliferation related
initiatives, and has been receptive to cooperation aimed at
containing Iran (reftel). The Prime Minister worked hard to
get the 2007 PSI Shipboarding Agreement approved by
Parliament last fall, and Malta last month hosted a USG
interagency team for the first-ever exercise of a PSI
Shipboarding Agreement worldwide. (The shipboarding agreement
with Malta is particularly significant because Malta has the
5th largest flag registry in the world, with many Iranian
ships flying the Maltese flag.) We have an active and
free-flowing intelligence exchange with the Maltese Security
Service (MSS),with which we enjoy very close relations. The
new government's first foreign policy decision following the
elections was to re-join NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP).
That decision, which we welcomed, has been heavily (and
inaccurately) criticized by the opposition as having
allegedly been taken in response to U.S. pressure.
3. (S) Your visit also coincides with important progress on a
number of bilateral agenda items of great importance to the
GoM. Last month a U.S. Treasury delegation and a team of
Maltese negotiators reached agreement on the final text of a
Double Taxation Agreement, the culmination of a two-year
effort (and an issue that had been pushed unsuccessfully by
Malta for almost a decade prior to that.) Later this week we
will be signing an MOU with the GoM on the Visa Waiver
Program, another issue of critical importance to the GoM
domestically. And next month we will break ground on a new
$87 million Embassy, which will become the first custom-built
foreign embassy on the island (it is worth noting that while
the GoM has strongly supported this effort, and rightfully
views it as a symbol of long term U.S. committment to Malta,
the project has been heavily criticized by the opposition,
which has used it to stoke fears of U.S. hegemony locally and
globally.)
4. (S) The GoM appears to clearly understand the dangers and
downsides of financial transactions involving Iran, and we
anticipate that they will be receptive to your message. While
you may hear some references to the importance of
"international legitimacy" and the desirability of U.N. or
E.U. legal cover for steps taken against Iran (this theme is
particularly popular at the MFA),we do not anticipate
significant push-back on this front from decision makers. In
terms of getting meaningful traction on difficult requests,
your key interlocutors will be those at the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the PM's
office, all of whom are thoughtful and reasonable players.
BORDONARO
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
TREASURY FOR COLLEEN EDDY
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018
TAGS: KTFN PTER IR EFIN PARM MT
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U/S LEVEY APR 15-17 VISIT TO MALTA
REF: VALLETTA 132
Classified By: Ambassador Molly Bordonaro, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (S) U/S Levey: Embassy Valletta looks forward to your
upcoming visit to Malta. Composed of several tiny islands in
the Mediterranean, Malta's small size and population
(400,000) belies a relatively important strategic and
geopolitical role. Malta joined the EU in 2004, adopting the
Euro as its currency and joining the Schengen visa zone
earlier this year. One third of the world's maritime traffic
passes by or through Malta, with some 1.5 million containers
passing through Malta's Freeport each year (80-90 percent of
that amount is trans-shipped, and the Iranian shipping line
IRISL uses Malta's Freeport as a hub). Until several years
ago there was no Maltese Customs presence in the Freeport,
but the USG has invested heavily there, standing up what is
now rated as one of the most professional Customs operations
in Europe, with its headquarters at a $2.1 million
VACIS-equipped warehouse, all donated by the U.S.
2. (S) Your visit comes on the heels of a very close early
March election in which the center-right Nationalist Party
won re-election by less than 2,000 votes. In recent years
the Nationalist government has worked closely with us on a
number of counter-terrorism and non-proliferation related
initiatives, and has been receptive to cooperation aimed at
containing Iran (reftel). The Prime Minister worked hard to
get the 2007 PSI Shipboarding Agreement approved by
Parliament last fall, and Malta last month hosted a USG
interagency team for the first-ever exercise of a PSI
Shipboarding Agreement worldwide. (The shipboarding agreement
with Malta is particularly significant because Malta has the
5th largest flag registry in the world, with many Iranian
ships flying the Maltese flag.) We have an active and
free-flowing intelligence exchange with the Maltese Security
Service (MSS),with which we enjoy very close relations. The
new government's first foreign policy decision following the
elections was to re-join NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP).
That decision, which we welcomed, has been heavily (and
inaccurately) criticized by the opposition as having
allegedly been taken in response to U.S. pressure.
3. (S) Your visit also coincides with important progress on a
number of bilateral agenda items of great importance to the
GoM. Last month a U.S. Treasury delegation and a team of
Maltese negotiators reached agreement on the final text of a
Double Taxation Agreement, the culmination of a two-year
effort (and an issue that had been pushed unsuccessfully by
Malta for almost a decade prior to that.) Later this week we
will be signing an MOU with the GoM on the Visa Waiver
Program, another issue of critical importance to the GoM
domestically. And next month we will break ground on a new
$87 million Embassy, which will become the first custom-built
foreign embassy on the island (it is worth noting that while
the GoM has strongly supported this effort, and rightfully
views it as a symbol of long term U.S. committment to Malta,
the project has been heavily criticized by the opposition,
which has used it to stoke fears of U.S. hegemony locally and
globally.)
4. (S) The GoM appears to clearly understand the dangers and
downsides of financial transactions involving Iran, and we
anticipate that they will be receptive to your message. While
you may hear some references to the importance of
"international legitimacy" and the desirability of U.N. or
E.U. legal cover for steps taken against Iran (this theme is
particularly popular at the MFA),we do not anticipate
significant push-back on this front from decision makers. In
terms of getting meaningful traction on difficult requests,
your key interlocutors will be those at the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the PM's
office, all of whom are thoughtful and reasonable players.
BORDONARO