France and Malta
Political relations
France enjoys excellent relations with Malta, characterized by political closeness and convergence on several regional and international issues (particularly the Mediterranean and fighting climate change).
French presence
French Embassy website: https://al.ambafrance.org
As on 12 October 2021, there were 1,392 registered French people living in Malta.
Visits
To Malta:
- Laurence Boone visited Malta on 25-26 May 2023. She was received by the Maltese Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, Ian Borg.
- The Minister of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, travelled to Malta on 7 December 2021. He was received by George Vella, President of the Republic of Malta, Robert Abela, Prime Minister, and Evarist Bartolo, Minister for European and Foreign Affairs.
- Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited Malta on 29 April 2021. He was received by George Vella, President of the Republic of Malta, and held discussions with Evarist Bartolo, Maltese Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, and Byron Camilleri, Maltese Minister for the Interior and National Security.
- Gérald Darmanin, Interior Minister, visited Malta on 7 November 2020. He met with Evarist Bartolo, Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, and Byron Camilleri, Minister for the Interior and National Security.
- Jean-Yves Le Drian travelled to Malta on 24 July 2020. He was met by George Vella and held discussions with Evarist Bartolo, Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, and Byron Camilleri, Minister for Home Affairs and Security.
To France:
- On 11 February 2022, Prime Minister Robert Abela travelled to Brest for the One Ocean Summit, and on 11-12 November 2021, to the Paris Peace Forum and International Conference for Libya.
- The Maltese Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Ian Borg, met Elisabeth Borne, Minister for Transport, in Paris on 24 April 2019 and visited the worksite of one the Grand Paris tunnels.
- Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made several visits to France (including for the Paris Peace Forum in November 2018 and 2019)
Ambassadors
French Ambassador in Malta: Agnès von der Mühll (since September 2021)
Maltese Ambassador to France: Carmelo Inguanez (since December 2019)
Economic relations
In 2021, France was Malta’s 5th largest supplier (€0.55 billion, after Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and China) and its 4th largest client (after Italy, Germany and China). French-Maltese trade links are highly specialized. Aeronautics, electronic components and hydrocarbons make up 55% of the goods exchanged between France and Malta since 2012. This is due to Malta’s industrial production which specializes in high value-added assembly and subcontracting (aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors) and its dependence on hydrocarbons. Malta has undertaken economic diversification based on traditional sectors (tourism, maritime transport) and innovative sectors (online gaming, blockchain, financial services, pharmaceutical industry and aeronautics).
Several French companies are firmly established in Malta, including the French-Italian group ST Microelectronics (the archipelago’s largest private employer, manufacturing of microprocessors and R&D) and CMA-CGM (maritime transport, transhipment on the Suez-Gibraltar route). Insurance activities by Stellantis (formerly PSA), as well as the biotechnology industry are also set up there.
Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation
Several recent agreements show our closer bilateral cooperation in areas as varied as diplomatic cooperation, space, and the management of the Maltese State’s asset portfolio. Our cultural cooperation has increased, as has bilateral technical dialogue (customs, Expertise France); dialogue between military staff is growing, although the defence relationship remains limited due to Malta’s neutrality (enshrined in its Constitution).
In terms of language learning, despite competition from Spanish, about 10% of people in Malta understand French. Cooperation projects to encourage the teaching of French have been set up with Malta, which joined the International Organisation of the Francophonie as an observer in 2018.
Updated: February 2024