Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg met with Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland in London on Friday.
The role of the Commonwealth in climate action, the Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence in Malta, October’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, and the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan were high on the meeting’s agenda.
“We reaffirmed our commitment to tackling climate change and other global challenges through innovative partnerships and collaboration within the Commonwealth. We also highlighted the organisation’s vital role in supporting small states and promoting sustainable development,” stated Minister Borg.
Secretary General Scotland emphasised the Commonwealth’s ongoing efforts to support climate action strategies focused on adaptation, mitigation, and resilience building. She underlined the Commonwealth’s Artificial Intelligence Consortium, which aims to enhance digital skills among youth and bridge the digital divide for small states.
Going forward, the Secretary General proposed new collaborations among geo-spatial experts from Commonwealth nations, with the support of the European Commission, to enhance protective measures against climate change. Minister Borg expressed Malta’s interest in facilitating discussions to explore this collaboration further.
The Minister also noted the positive contributions of the Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence, which was established in Malta in 2017, providing numerous opportunities for capacity-building and the sharing of technical expertise among Commonwealth member states.
“With the experience gained over the past seven years of operations, Malta is soon to relaunch and revamp this Centre to ensure that it continues to support small states as they adapt to the ever-changing international scenario,” Minister Borg said.
Minister Borg and Secretary General Scotland agreed on the importance of connecting the centre with other similar centres through artificial intelligence, creating a centralised hub for collaboration. Malta is also looking forward to cooperating closely with the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Centre of Excellence, which was announced at the SIDS4 Conference in Antigua and Barbuda earlier this year.
Photo (MFET)
