Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg held talks with the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, on the sidelines of CHOGM 2024, in Samoa, this week.
Following a long migration history, the Maltese community in Australia remains Malta’s largest diaspora in the world, fostering close diplomatic and cultural ties between the two countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Borg and Minister Wong discussed the long-standing relations between the two countries and ongoing collaborations in several multilateral fora, including the United Nations and the Commonwealth. They also exchanged views on areas of mutual interest, including maritime security, cooperation on small island development states (SIDS), and business and economic partnerships.
“We are confident that our outstanding relationship with Australia will continue to grow in the future, particularly through people-to-people exchanges and in the promotion of the Maltese language with the descendants of Maltese emigrants,” Deputy Prime Minister Borg said, adding that “Malta remains interested in sharing views and good practices aimed at facilitating closer connections between our peoples.”
The two foreign ministers also discussed the potential for increased trade flows, with more opportunities for productive interactions between the two countries’ business stakeholders. In this regard, Minister Borg expressed his hope that current obstacles preventing the conclusion of the EU-Australia trade agreement can be addressed expeditiously.
In Samoa, Deputy Prime Minister Borg led the Maltese delegation of diplomats in several high-level meetings of the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), as well as bilateral talks with some of its member states.
Minister Borg also met with the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, to discuss ongoing collaborations between the two island states, including the implementation of the 2024 agreement for the establishment of the global information center on the implementation of UN sanctions at sea, as well as potential collaborations between the Commonwealth Small States Center of Excellence in Malta and the new Small Islands Developing States Center of Excellence in Antigua and Barbuda.
Malta also held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica Kamina J. Smith, the Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Khaleel, as well as the Barbados High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Milton Innis.
Photo (ODPM-MFET)
