Sanchez invites Picardo to Socialist International meeting in Malta

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, the Leader of the GSLP, dined with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday during a three-day meeting of the Socialist International’s Council in Malta.

The Spanish premier, the Leader of the PSOE, invited the Chief Minister to Malta after the GSLP joined the global alliance of social democratic, socialist and labour parties earlier this year with support from Spain’s Socialists and Mr Sanchez, who is currently Socialist International’s president.

Among the guests at the dinner who sat at the same table as Mr Picardo and Mr Sanchez were Robert Abela, the Prime Minister of Malta, and Albin Kurti, the Prime Minister of Kosovo.

Mr Picardo was accompanied to the meeting in Malta by Gemma Arias Vasquez, the Minister for Health.

This was the first meeting of the Socialist International that the GSLP had attended since its admission as a full member into the organisation.

“I was invited by Socialist International President and Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, to attend the Presidium meeting of [Socialist International],” Mr Picardo wrote on his social media on Saturday.

“I also had the pleasure of joining President Sanchez for dinner, together with the Prime Ministers of Malta and Kosovo and the President of the EU Committee of the Regions as well as Hana Jalloul from PSOE.”

“Over dinner we were able to enjoy less formal discussions, as socialists, joined by the principle of promoting the universal values of progressive democracy, equality, social justice and civil liberties.”

“At the Council meeting Gemma Arias Vasquez and I were sat in the front row with our Gibraltar name plates prominently displayed.”

“The GSLP applied to join Socialist International in 1988 and our application has taken 37 years, but we never give up and now we are full members.”

The GSLP first applied for membership after its election into government in 1988, but the application did not proceed at that time because it would have been blocked by the PSOE.

But in May 2025, the party’s renewed application was instead backed and supported by the Spanish socialist party.

At a meeting of Socialist International on May 25, 2025, in Istanbul, Gemma Arias Vasquez, who had been selected by the GSLP executive to pursue membership for the party, was informed that members had voted on Gibraltar’s application and that it had been approved unanimously with PSOE support.

In Malta, Mr Picardo was also invited by the coordinator of Socialist International to address the council meeting.