On February 8 and 9, 2007, was held in Malta an International Conference on the "Diplomacy of Small States" that envisionned to address some of the difficulties Diplomacies of Small States are confronted with while evolving in the current international diplomatic scene. During the conference presentations and discussions by the speakers and participants tried to answer questions related to how can these states employ diplomacy to help build the global stability vital for their own existence? How they evolve in the current international diplomatic environment? How can they influence global processes that strongly affect them (e.g. trade negotiations, climate change, environmental pollution, water scarcity, etc.)? How can they be heard on the global scene given their limited human and financial resources? Which tools could help them perform their classical functions and advance their national interests?
The Malta Conference set the stage for a year-long project on the Diplomacy of Small States which will include meetings (in Geneva in June 2007, Brussels in September 2007 and London in January 2008) during which will be addressed a range of realities Small States (including those from Africa) within the framework of their diplomatic deployment in the international diplomatic arena, seminars for diplomats from Small States, training and research projects.
This project is of a particular interest for most african diplomatic apparatus considering the relative political, diplomatic and economic marginalisation/isolation they are suffering from in the current international arena; a marginalisation that could easily be exemplified while looking at their place in international diplomatic circles.
