The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will begin an official two-day visit to Malta tomorrow, a Maltese government spokesman said yesterday.
Mr Ahern will meet President Guido de Marco, the Prime Minister, Mr Eddie Fenech Adami, and the opposition leader, Mr Alfred Sant, in talks expected to focus on Malta's efforts to join the European Union.
Malta applied to join the Union in 1990 and is amending its laws to be ready for membership by 2003.