As part of the official visit to Austria, a meeting was held between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Prime Minister Abela congratulated Secretary General Schmid for leading the Organisation through turbulent times and expressed Malta’s support towards the renewal of her mandate, along with the incumbency renewal of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Representative on the Freedom of the Media, and the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities. Prime Minister Abela also expressed his sincere gratitude for the trust shown towards Malta by the OSCE participating States to take the helm of the largest security Organisation in 2024.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Abela and Secretary General Schmid also held an exchange on the ongoing conflicts in the region, particularly Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Prime Minister Abela commended the OSCE’s work in Ukraine through the initiatives of the Support Programme for Ukraine and expressed Malta’s readiness to support this initiative through a financial contribution to the Support Programme.
Prime Minister Abela also underscored the importance of multilateralism as a core aspect of Malta’s foreign policy. He expressed Malta’s support for the upcoming preparations for the 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act in 2025, and for the hosting of the OSCE Mediterranean Conference 2024 in Malta later next year.
Prime Minister Abela was accompanied by Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg and Head of Secretariat of the Office of the Prime Minister Glenn Micallef.
