Relationship dossier
Malta
South Africa
Relationship assessment
A bilateral tax treaty supports modest cooperation, following Malta’s opposition to apartheid-era South African policy.
Malta toward South Africa
+15Malta opposed apartheid-era South African policy. The two governments also concluded a bilateral tax treaty, providing a concrete framework for cooperation.
South Africa toward Malta
+15South Africa concluded a bilateral tax treaty with Malta, providing a concrete framework for cooperation. The scope of other South African government engagement with Malta is unclear.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship includes a practical bilateral tax arrangement and a historical divide over apartheid-era policy. The known facts support modest cooperation, but provide limited evidence about the breadth or durability of engagement beyond the treaty.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Malta and South Africa have a bilateral tax treaty, providing a concrete basis for government cooperation. Malta also opposed apartheid-era South African policy. These facts point to modest cooperation in the post-apartheid relationship, alongside a significant historical policy divide; the broader scope of bilateral engagement is unclear.
Areas of tension
- Malta’s opposition to apartheid-era South African policy
Key developments
Malta and South Africa concluded a bilateral tax treaty.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of cooperation under the bilateral tax treaty is unclear.
- Details of other bilateral government cooperation are limited.