Rome, 27 April 2018 – Annette Schavan, the Federal German Republic’s first ambassador to the Sovereign Order of Malta, was received yesterday 26th April in the Magistral Palace by the Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre to present her credentials.

In November 2017, the opening of diplomatic relations between the Sovereign Order of Malta and Germany had sealed a long-standing relationship. The Order of Malta’s association in Germany, founded in 1859, has a vast range of health and social initiatives, in recent years mainly concentrated on assistance to and integration of immigrants and refugees.

“It is a great honour for me to be the first ambassador of the Federal German Republic to the Sovereign Order of Malta,” Ambassador Annette Schavan said. “I have no doubt that the Order represents one of Germany’s major partners in the humanitarian aid sector. This is particularly pertinent now, since the government, parliament and civil society in Germany are endeavouring to create a realistic policy for immigrants and refugees,” the ambassador explained.

The Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre in turn expressed the Order’s gratitude for Germany’s support and cooperation, and specifically its Foreign Ministry, in numerous humanitarian projects in developing countries or those afflicted by wars and famine, where Malteser International, the Order of Malta’s international relief agency, operates.