The importance of establishing partnerships in all areas between Malta and the United Kingdom was highlighted by outgoing British High Commissioner Sir Vincent Fean yesterday. Addressing journalists at a “farewell” breakfast at the British Council offices in Valletta, Sir Vincent spoke of the extremely good relations that exist between the two countries.

“Over the past three years, one of our main aims has been to stimulate, encourage and nourish partnerships,” Sir Vincent said, adding that the European Union had been a catalyst to make this possible.

Sir Vincent said that Malta now has the opportunity to spend wisely the funding it has obtained in the form of structural and cohesion funds from the EU.

“However, we need partnerships to make sensible bids for other funds that are available. And we are trying to help Malta where we can,” Sir Vincent said.

He said the South East Development Agency, in south-east England, was showing particular interest in Malta. An Interreg project between the University of Malta and the University of Hastings was under way.

“Gozo, as a peripheral part of Malta, might also figure in a twinning project with one of the UK’s islands, in this case the Isle of Wight. This is still a work-in-progress issue and we still have to see if something can be done,” Sir Vincent said.

Turning to trade between the two countries, he said the flow was steady at around £240m in exports from the UK.

On the investment front, he said a number of flagship companies were already present in Malta while other smaller countries were also playing an important role. Sir Vincent said there is considerable interest in a number of areas, especially in IT.

A number of British companies have shown an interest in various tenders, such as a metering system for the Water Services Corporation, and a tender for the IT system at the Mater Dei hospital, he added.

“These examples also highlight the importance of partnerships because these companies cannot do everything on their own but they need local expertise as well,” Sir Vincent said.

Looking back at the work carried out under the UK presidency, and the deal reached in December on the budget, Sir Vincent said the deal reached was good and “I don’t think it could have been better”.

Turning to issues of relevance to Malta, Sir Vincent said that sugar reforms, the prospect of CAP reform and immigration were high on the agenda, especially the latter, following Malta’s “legitimate perseverance”.

The British Council is also actively working to form partnerships in the fields of culture and education in particular, Ronnie Micallef, director of the British Council in Malta, said.

He said the number of Maltese taking up further studies in UK universities was on the increase and 51 students had benefited from Chevening scholarships – funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and local sponsors.

On a cultural level, the Council is working with the Northern Ireland Arts Council on a number of projects in the creative industries.

The new High Commissioner, Nick Archer, and his wife Erika and two sons, will be arriving in Malta on 3 March.

Sir Vincent and his wife Lady Anne will be taking up residence in Libya in May.