US ambassador aims for ‘big wins’ with Malta over Iranian ships

United States appointee ambassador to Malta Gina Abercombie-Winstanley - currently Director General to the US foreign service - has pledged to make "big wins" with the Maltese government in addressing issues related to the registering of Iranian ships.

Answering a question put to her by the foreign relations committe chairman, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, as she sat for her nomination approval hearing in Washington, Abercombie-Winstanley said that "the Maltese have taken some steps in the recent past, including agreeing not to reflag any additional Iranian ships, so they will not be reflagging new Iranian ships."

She added, "they have also been supportive of enforcing UN sanctions with regards to Iranian cargo and they have interdicted ships and seized illegal cargo. So they have taken what we consider some important steps. They're small steps, what we consider small wins. We're going to be working for big wins. So this is something I will take up at an early opportunity."

Florida senator Marco Rubio who sat on the hearing committee described Malta as 2an important US ally in the Mediterranean."

He hailed the strategic and humanitarian role the island played throughout the Libyan uprising, adding that he travelled to Malta last September together with a US Senate delegation en route to Tripoli.

"They didn't want us to overnight in Tripoli, so we stayed in Malta. I got to meet the leaders there and got to spend some time in the nation and grew to really understand its strategic importance in the region as a gateway between North Africa an the Middle East and Europe. But also an important ally.

"Though they're not a member of NATO they've been such an important partner in so many of the operations that NATO's undertaken, and I think will play a critical role in the months to come as the Libya people struggle to reach, for example their own democratic aspirations."

Senator Rubio said that the US considers its relationship with Malta as "important" and although "not an often talked about station, it doesn't mean it has no value or strategic importance to the US and its European allies."

Senator Rubio praised Abercombie-Winstanley's 'seasoned career' in various posts within the US diplomatic service.

The appointee-ambassador, who was accompanied to the hearing in Washington by her husband Jarrod and daughter Cara, revealed her family "personal connections" to Malta, as her father-in-law made many stops on the island as a naval officer during World War II, while her sister studied nursing at St. Luke's Hospital.

"Malta is a valued European partner, often serving as a bridge between the West and the Middle East," Abercombie-Winstanley said, adding that Malta's strategic location in the Mediterranean is important to both global security and international commerce.

When talking about the role played by Malta during the Libyan uprising, Ambercombie-Winstanley said that "Malta authorised thousands of overflight requests in support of Operation Unified Protector free of charge, and at a substantial cost to its ability to route lucrative commercial traffic."

Answering a question by Senator Rubio who expressed concern at Malta's capabilities of addressing matters related to human trafficking, Abercombie-Winstanley said that "the Maltese have had trouble with identifying victims and we have been working with them to help them do so as well as ensuring that they do not hold victims responsible or charge them for crimes directly related to them having been trafficked."

Abercombie-Winstanley was well briefed about a recent court judgement that sentenced a man to 10 years imprisonment for human trafficking, describing it as "a first successful prosecution and shows that they're moving in the right direction.

"Human trafficking concerns will be my priority when I get there," Abercombie-Winstanley told the committee.