President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca held a meeting with the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) as part of her official visit to Belgium to attend a commemorative ceremony marking a century since the start of the First World War.

During the meeting with ECCO president Martine Piccard, CEO Michel Ballieu and head of unit Davi Kaur, Ms Coleiro Preca, who was accompanied by Malta's ambassador to Belgium Ray Azzopardi, discussed the presidency's social work, the Malta Community Chest Fund's efforts and the support provided to NGOs working in the sector.

The President noted that while she strove to strengthen financial assistance to such causes, she hoped to bring all stakeholders together to continue to improve the services provided to those affected by cancer or other serious illnesses.

The two sides agreed on exploring ways in which to cooperate to help achieve the aims of the presidency.

ECOO represents and serves the interests of over 60,000 professionals in oncology through 24 member organisations.