With Queen Elizabeth II arriving in Malta yesterday for a four-day state visit, what Malta has been preparing for over the past months finally reaches its climax.

Queen Elizabeth is here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that she will be opening at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta tomorrow. Yet she arrived two days before the official start to once again show her deep affection to the island where she lived for some time before she became Queen.

It was just after the end of World War II and, more than half a century down the line, the Queen has once again honoured this little country of ours with another visit, her fourth official one. She is accompanied by Prince Philip.

Malta has changed dramatically since the Princess spent part of her younger years here in the late 1940s.

But it has also changed in the last 13 years, that is since 1992, when Her Majesty was last here on an official visit.

For one thing, Malta is now a member of the European Union, a decision which has given a new dimension to Malta’s future and also its direct relationships with Britain.

Malta and Britain enjoy a strong relationship that continues to grow. The recent meeting held between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at 10, Downing Street has further helped to tie the two countries together. Mr Blair will himself be in Malta for the CHOGM, the first time that a British prime minister visits Malta since Winston Churchill.

The warm welcome given to the Queen by the Maltese people yesterday in St George’s Square and Republic Street was yet another proof of the links that exist between Malta and Britain, and between Malta and Her Majesty.

The older generations will recall her previous visits here, and some will also remember the time she spent living in Malta. For the younger generations, it is a chance to get to know more about the special relationship Her Majesty has with Malta.

The presence of the Queen in Malta is already, in itself, a memorable occasion for the country. But this time her visit goes beyond the normal, as it coincides with what is the largest-ever international event to be organised in Malta – the CHOGM and all its related activities.

Today, the bulk of the heads of state who will be taking part in the CHOGM to start tomorrow will arrive. It is the first time that more that 40 heads of state will be in Malta at the same time and, as is expected, the security arrangements that have been prepared have pushed our resources to the limit.

The police and the Armed Forces of Malta have appealed for public cooperation in this regard, and The Malta Independent joins in this appeal. It is a chance for the Maltese public to show maturity. It is a national event that will be hard to come by again, and therefore the Maltese people must be on their best behaviour.

We should all be proud that all the eyes of the Commonwealth – 1.8 billion people in 53 countries – are on Malta. Of course, there will be the inconvenience of traffic jams and the like in places from where the dignitaries will be driven through. But we must all understand the importance of such an event and cooperate with the authorities so as not to increase the difficulty of the job they have been assigned to do.