Ministero della Difesa

Cooperation between the Italian Armed Forces and the Republic of Malta began on 1st August 1973, at the request of the Maltese government (when the island had not yet obtained full independence), with the establishment of the MICTM (Italian Technical and Military Cooperation  Mission). Thus, the Special Cooperation Project was implemented within the framework of the Technical and Scientific Cooperation Agreement  between the Italian  and Maltese Governments, signed in La Valletta on 28 July 1967.

The Mission was tasked with training the Malta Pioneer Corps in public works, improving local and international telecommunications networks pertaining to telegraph and telephone, and in the maintenance/ repair of government transportation assets. On 28 March 1979 the Mission was withdrawn upon the request of the Maltese Government.

In 1981 the two Governments signed a new agreement, and two organizations were established: DIATM (Italian Delegation for Technical-Military Assistance) and MICTM (Italian Mission for Technical Cooperation in Malta). The former was tasked with training volunteers that would join either the two Maltese Armed Forces’ components (Task Force & Armed Forces of Malta) or the Police Corps, and to cooperate with MICTM in civil engineering activities.

DIATM and MICTM activities were discontinued between December 1984 and September 1985, except for SAR operations that continued without interruptions.

On 14 July 1988 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Defense, and the MIATM (Italian Mission for Technical and Military Assistance) was established.
The Italian mission in support of the Republic of Malta covered two major areas:

The first one, notably involving the Air Force, regarded cooperation in the field of Search and Rescue (SAR), including pilot and rescuers’ training. The second one mainly aimed at providing both basic and advanced education and training to Armed Forces personnel, as well as technical training to Police Corps members.

To this purpose, as regards Maltese Officers and Warrant Officers’ education and training, Italian Military Schools and AF major training facilities made  5-6 positions available to Maltese attendees yearly (usually free of charge) during their education or practical  courses.

On 25 June 2009 Italy ratified a new Memorandum of Understanding establishing new cooperation procedures between the two Countries.

On 1st December 2011, after two years of transition, the Missione Italiana di Collaborazione nel Campo della Difesa (MICCD) was established.

The transition from  technical assistance  to  cooperation in the field of Defense completely changed the Italian military effort and the terms of our cooperation.

The presence of the Italian military in Malta, with the exception of the AF, whose tasks and number of personnel remained unchanged, was downsized and redesigned to guarantee the availability in Malta of specialists in the field of Land/Navy/CP-Cg/Air able to advise Maltese Armed Forces on cooperation projects to be subsequently developed in Italy, or in Malta, by the relevant Service Staffs.