Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/751614
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2016 News Muscat in historic meeting with Russian premier Medvedev TIM DIACONO PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday was in Moscow where he held bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, the first meeting be- tween a Maltese and Russian Prime Minister in 24 years. Relations between Malta and Russia recently took a turn for the sour after the Maltese gov- ernment refused to allow a Rus- sian warship destined for Syria to refuel in Maltese waters. Rus- sian foreign ministry spokesper- son Maria Zakharova last week criticised the decision,saying that Malta had "fallen victim to the West's information war". However, Muscat put such dif- ferences aside during his meeting with Medvedev, telling the Rus- sian Prime Minister that Malta is ready to use its upcoming stint as head of the EU's rotating presidency to improve relations between the EU and Russia. In a statement, Muscat said that the two spoke about means to improve business relations between Malta and Russia, par- ticularly in the tourism, logistics and health sectors. They also discussed the wars in Syria and Libya and "other regional issues that closely affect the two coun- tries". At the end of the talks, Mus- cat and Medvedev signed three agreements aimed at improving bilateral relations in education, tourism and business respec- tively. The Prime Minister was ac- companied to Moscow by deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech and foreign minister George Vella. Earlier, Muscat spoke at a busi- ness forum at the Moscow Busi- ness Centre that was organised jointly by TradeMalta, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, and the Russian Chamber of Commerce. In it, he urged Russian business- people to invest in Malta, noting that it is a Eurozone country and part of the EU single market, and that a new logistics centre is in the pipeline. He called for closer business ties between the two countries, arguing that they "have a lot to offer each other" "My government wants to take relations between Malta and Russia to a new level, and the mere fact that this forum is being held is proof that the two sides want to strengthen our bilateral commercial relations." During his visit, a deal was signed between the Domain Academy – a Maltese private educational centre - and the Na- tional Research University, that will see 300 Russian students study in Malta in 2018. In a statement, the government said that the Russia university had been spent months search- ing for a European country in which to offer higher level cours- es, and ultimately chose Malta because it is a stable country and a "centre of excellence in the ed- ucational sector". tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shaking hands with Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow – the first meeting of its kind in 24 years