Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg meets with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ian Borg held talks with the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong whilst in Samoa for the CHOGM earlier this week.

The foreign affairs ministry highlighted in a press release that the two spoke on long-standing relations between Malta and Australia and ongoing collaborations, 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.”

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 talks with some of its member states.

Borg also met with Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, to discuss collaborations, including the 2024 agreement for a global information center on UN sanctions at sea and potential partnerships between the Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence in Malta and the new Small Islands Developing States Centre of Excellence in Antigua and Barbuda.

Malta discussed with Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell, Jamaica Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina J. Smith, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel, and Barbados High Commissioner to the UK Milton Innis.