The excellent relations between Malta and the United Kingdom in the Home Affairs and Defence areas will be further strengthened, irrespective of the decision taken by the British people to relinquish their EU membership, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Carmelo Abela, told the new British High Commissioner, Stuart Gill.

High Commissioner Gill, who presented his credentials to the President of Malta on 1st September, paid the Minister a courtesy visit on Friday.

Discussions also focused on Malta’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU, during which issues such as migration and counter-terrorism will definitely be top concerns.The High Commissioner said that, with Brexit, the UK will be leaving the EU but not Europe. European countries need to close ranks even more tightly now, faced as they are by serious challenges, he said. He added that, for the time being, the UK remains a full EU Member State and in that capacity it remains Malta’s close partner within the Union.

Minister Abela was accompanied by Mr Anthony Vella-Gregory, Chief of Staff, and Mr Alessandro Mangion, International Affairs Political Coordinator.