Malta | United States |
---|
According to a 2010 American Community Survey, there are roughly 35,103 Maltese Americans residing in the United States.
According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 21% of Maltese people approve of U.S. leadership, with 15% disapproving and 64% uncertain. [1]
At the time of the American Revolutionary War which established the United States, Malta was a de facto independent vassal state ruled by the Order of St. John. During the war, the French Navy included 1,800 Maltese and knights of the Order, who played a role during the decisive Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781. Two years later, the United States Ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin presented a Libertas Americana medal to Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, thanking him for supporting the American cause. Franklin also asked de Rohan to allow American ships in Maltese ports, and the latter granted this request. The first United States Consul to Malta was appointed in 1796. [2]
John Pass (Pace), who recast the Liberty Bell in 1753, was of Maltese origin. [2]
During the First Barbary War of 1801–05, American ships were allowed to take in water and provisions from Maltese ports. [2]
According to Diane Andreassi: [3]
During World War II, some American ships took part in Operation Pedestal, a British convoy meant to supply Malta with critical supplies in August 1942. Most notably, the American tanker SS Ohio supplied crucial fuel and food to the islands. Later on in 1942, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp twice delivered Spitfires to Malta. [2]
General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Italian Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio signed an armistice in September 1943 on board HMS Nelson while anchored in Malta's Grand Harbour. Later on in 1943, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Malta described the island as "one tiny bright flame in the darkness – a beacon of hope for the clearer days which have come." [2]
Maltese Prime Minister George Borg Olivier met the US President John F. Kennedy at the White House on 19 September 1963, a year before Malta's independence. [2]
Malta and the United States established full diplomatic relations upon Malta's independence in 1964; overall relations are positive. The United States has been sympathetic to Malta's campaign to attract private investment, and some firms operating in Malta have U.S. ownership or investment. These include major hotels, manufacturing and repair facilities, and some offices servicing local and regional operations.[ citation needed ]
The Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami met U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the White House in July 1988. On 2–3 December 1989, U.S. President George H. W. Bush met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Malta Summit in Marsaxlokk Bay, where they officially declared an end to the Cold War. [2]
In 2005, the Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi met U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House. Malta acted as an evacuation point for US and other citizens during the Libyan Civil War in 2011. That year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly visited Malta while returning from Libya. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat met President Barack Obama a number of times. [2]
On 10 August 2019, the governments of both Malta and the United States issued a joint statement emphasizing the countries' "friendship and close collaboration". [4]
The United States established its embassy in Malta in 1964. It was originally located in the capital Valletta, but it eventually moved to Sliema. It moved to Floriana in 1974, and again to a new building in Ta' Qali National Park in Attard in 2011. [2]
Malta has an embassy in Washington, D.C.
After independence in 1964, Malta followed a policy of close co-operation with NATO countries. Since 1971, the country sought relations with the rest of the world, including communist countries in Eastern Europe and the non-aligned countries.
The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states and Morocco of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had been at war with the Tripolitans since 1800 and was joined by the newly independent US. The First Barbary War extended from 10 May 1801 to 10 June 1805, with the Second Barbary War lasting only three days, ending on 19 June 1815. The Barbary Wars were the first major American war fought entirely outside the New World, and in the Arab World.
The Moroccan–American Treaty of Peace and Friendship, also known as the Treaty of Marrakesh, was a bilateral agreement signed in 1786 that established diplomatic and commercial relations between the United States and Morocco. It was the first treaty between the U.S. and an Arab, African, and Muslim nation, and initiated what as of 2024 remains the longest unbroken diplomatic relationship in U.S. history.
The relations between Sweden and the United States reach back to the days of the American Revolutionary War. The Kingdom of Sweden was the first country not formally engaged in the conflict to recognize the United States before the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed subsequently in 1783 between Benjamin Franklin and Swedish representative Gustaf Philip Creutz.
The Malta Summit was a meeting between United States President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 2–3, 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It followed a meeting that included Ronald Reagan in New York in December 1988. During the summit, Bush and Gorbachev declared an end to the Cold War, although whether it was truly such is a matter of debate. News reports of the time referred to the Malta Summit as one of the most important since World War II, when British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed on a post-war plan for Europe at the Yalta Conference.
Maltese Americans are Americans with Maltese ancestry.
In July 2001, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika became the first Algerian President to visit the White House since 1985. This visit, followed by a second meeting in November 2001, and President Bouteflika's participation at the June 2004 G8 Sea Island Summit, is indicative of the growing relationship between the United States and Algeria. Since the September 11 attacks in the United States, contacts in key areas of mutual concern, including law enforcement and counter-terrorism cooperation, have intensified. Algeria publicly condemned the terrorist attacks on the United States and has been strongly supportive of the Global War on Terrorism. The United States and Algeria consult closely on key international and regional issues. The pace and scope of senior-level visits has accelerated.
Bilateral relations between the United States and Cambodia, while strained throughout the Cold War, have strengthened considerably in modern times. The U.S. supports efforts in Cambodia to combat terrorism, build democratic institutions, promote human rights, foster economic development, eliminate corruption.
Finland and the United States currently have good relations. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize Finland after it declared independence in 1917, and officially established diplomatic relations in 1920. Due to World War II and Soviet pressure, relations were suspended between 1942 and 1945 before being raised to embassy level in 1954. Finland has been of strategic importance to the United States due to its position bordering the Soviet Union and later Russia, and after the end of the Cold War in 1991 Finland's shift to the West has led to warmer relations. There is significant trade activity, including military procurement, between the two countries. The United States supported Finlanď's NATO membership during Finland's accession into NATO, which was finalized on 4 April 2023.
Italy and the United States enjoy warm and friendly relations. The United States has had diplomatic representation in the nation of Italy and its predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Italy, since 1840. However, in 1891 the Italian government severed diplomatic relations and briefly contemplated war against the US as a response to the unresolved case of the lynching of eleven Italians in New Orleans, Louisiana, and there was a break in relations from 1941 to 1943, while Italy and the United States were at war.
Lithuania is one of the most pro-United States nations in Europe and the world, with 73% of Lithuanians viewing the U.S. positively in 2011. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 48% of Lithuanians approve of U.S. leadership, with 20% disapproving and 32% uncertain.
Portugal–United States relations are bilateral relations between Portugal and the United States.
The bilateral relations between the Republic of Singapore and the United States of America are positive. According to the U.S. Global Leadership Report, 77% of Singaporeans approved of U.S. leadership under the Obama Administration in 2010, and while this approval rating decreased slightly down to 75% in 2011, it nonetheless remains one of the highest ratings of the U.S. for any surveyed country in the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States has maintained an official presence in Slovenia since the early 1970s, when the United States Information Agency (USIS) opened a library and American press and cultural center in Ljubljana. From its opening through 1992, the American Center worked to develop closer grassroots relations between the United States and the people of the then-Socialist Republic of Slovenia, a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On December 23, 1990, the Slovene people voted in a plebiscite to separate from greater Yugoslavia. On June 25, 1991, the new Republic of Slovenia officially declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A 10-day war commenced, during which Slovenian territorial troops fought off incursions by the Yugoslav People's Army. The United States formally recognized the new republic on April 7, 1992. To develop U.S. diplomatic relations with the new state, the United States opened a new Embassy in Ljubljana in August 1992. From the departure of Yousif Ghafari in January 2009 till November 2010, the U.S. Ambassador position was vacant. From November 2010 to 2015 it was held by Joseph A. Mussomeli. The Ambassador position is currently held by Jamie Harpootlian.
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Malta. Both countries have full embassy level diplomatic relations since 1967. As both countries are members of the Commonwealth, both are represented by High Commissions, with Australia maintaining a High Commission in Valletta, and Malta a High Commission in Canberra. In addition, Malta has two Consulates-General.
Malta–Portugal relations are foreign relations between Malta and Portugal. Malta has an embassy in Lisbon and 4 honorary consulates. Portugal is accredited to Malta from its embassy in Rome, Italy. Both countries are full members of the European Union, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Union for the Mediterranean.
Malta–Slovakia relations are foreign relations between Malta and the Slovakia. Malta is represented in Slovakia through a non resident ambassador based in Valletta. Slovakia is represented in Malta through its embassy in Rome (Italy) and an honorary consulate in Valletta. Both countries are full members of the European Union, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and both are fully within the Eurozone.
Japan–Malta relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between Japan and Malta. Their diplomatic relations were established in 1965.
Malta–Palestine relations are the diplomatic relations between Malta and Palestine. Malta has traditionally held close and friendly relations with the Palestinian people ever since Malta's attainment of Independence on 21 September 1964. The Foreign Policy of Malta has consistently supported international efforts aimed at a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the conflict aimed at establishing a State of Palestine living side by side by the State of Israel in peace and security.
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.