Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr George W. Vella, met Mr Deodat Maharaj, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General responsible for Economic and Social Affairs, accompanied by Mr Arun Kumar Sharma, Chief Investment Officer with the Global Financial Markets Department of  the International Finance Corporation. During the meeting, Minister Vella and Mr Maharaj discussed the ongoing preparations for Malta’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2015, and a number of Commonwealth economic and financial initiatives which Malta is pushing forward in the Commonwealth agenda.

 In follow-up to the communiqué of CHOGM 2013 which took place in Sri Lanka, the meeting addressed the possibility of launching a Commonwealth Climate Finance Skills Hub, and Malta’s proposal to establish a Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence, and Trade Financing Facility for Small States. Both sides underlined the scope of further augmenting the Commonwealth’s role in the international arena, as well as the importance of continuing the existing excellent co-operation especially in the run-up to CHOGM 2015.

Today, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat met with President of Botswana Ian Khama during a visit to Botswana.

Representatives of government from 53 Commonwealth countries are meeting in Botswana before the CHOGM, to be held in Malta in November.

The migration issue was also discussed.