Digital Diplomacy Profile for Malta
April 2024
Strategies and Action Plans
The Digital Diplomacy Profile for Malta is a blueprint outlining how Malta can effectively engage with the digital world to further its national interests and contribute to global digital governance. The profile emphasises the integration of digital tools into Malta’s overall diplomatic strategy, underscoring the transformative impact of digital technologies on modern diplomacy.
Key Components of Malta’s Digital Diplomacy Profile
- Rationale for Digital Diplomacy:
- The profile begins by justifying the need for Malta to embrace digital diplomacy, highlighting the intertwined nature of the digital and physical worlds. It argues that nation-states, like their citizens, benefit from full engagement with the digital world.
- Malta’s digital diplomacy aims to safeguard its citizens’ interests, raise awareness of critical digital issues (such as data sovereignty and the regulation of technology companies), and promote values that contribute to a safer and more open cyberspace.
- Strategic Objectives:
- The profile aligns with Malta’s Foreign Policy Strategy (2022) and identifies three overlapping areas of interest: protecting citizens’ digital rights, engaging with global digital governance, and leveraging digital technologies to enhance Malta’s diplomatic footprint.
- Engagement Framework:
- Malta aims to play a significant role in global digital governance, advocating for an open, stable, secure, and inclusive digital world.
- The profile stresses the importance of Malta’s involvement in multilateral forums, particularly within the United Nations, to promote a global digital commons akin to the physical global commons such as the high seas.
- Action Plan for Digital Diplomacy:
- The action plan is structured around three pillars:
- Digital for Diplomacy: Leveraging digital technologies to enhance Malta’s diplomatic efforts.
- Digital in Diplomacy: Ensuring Malta’s voice is strong in global debates on digital governance and technology.
- Diplomacy for Digital: Positioning Malta as a leader in digital foreign policy, particularly within European structures and multilateral organisations.
- The action plan is structured around three pillars:
- Key Areas of Focus:
- Citizen Protection: Emphasising the protection of personal data and the regulation of technology companies to ensure that Maltese citizens’ rights are upheld in the digital realm.
- Global Engagement: Strengthening Malta’s role in international digital policy discussions, particularly within the EU and the United Nations.
- Economic Opportunities: Identifying and promoting new economic niches for Malta, particularly in areas aligned with Malta’s Smart Specialization Strategy 2021–2027.
- Global Leadership and Soft Power:
- Malta seeks to expand its diplomatic reach by exporting digital diplomacy practices, particularly to regions beyond the Global North, such as Africa and Latin America.
- The profile also highlights Malta’s efforts to contribute to global stability by promoting the digital architecture as a public good and advocating for the continued existence of a free and open Internet.