In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela praised the United Nations and said that its diplomatic mission to bring peace in the world is a necessity for a small island like Malta. However the Prime Minister also condemned the horse-trading by major powers over the choice of the Secretary-General.
The mandate of the current Secretary-General António Guterres ends at the end of 2026. The Maltese premier praised the current Secretary-General’s efforts to advocate for peace, but urged UN members to recognise the exigencies of the present moment and to heed the voices of smaller nations.
The Prime Minister said that major progress has been made in the world since the UN was founded and mentioned the global life expectancy rate as an example, which rose from up to 40 years old in the 1940s to more than 70 years old today. The Premier urged for major reform at the UN and also said that United Nations Security Council has to be reformed to make it more effective such as by expanding it to more members.
On Ukraine, the Prime Minister said that Malta stands firmly with the EU in increasing economic pressure on Russia to end the war and called for a permanent ceasefire. He also added that international law should be respected with regard to Ukraine. More explicitly, at a separate event on the sidelines hosted by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Abela reaffirmed his position that Russia must return the occupied territories to Ukraine, including Crimea. He concluded his remarks on Ukraine at the General Assembly podium with the words, “Slava Ukraini”.
In general, the speech followed Malta’s traditional diplomatic policies of advocating for multilateralism and diplomatic engagement to solve conflicts. He said that Malta is always ready to serve as a broker for peace. However, this is the first time that the Prime Minister made strong supportive statements with regard to Ukraine.
The full video of the speech will be linked later on.
On Monday, the Maltese Premier announced that Malta has recognised the State of Palestine along with up to 150 other UN members.
Newsroom
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