Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Cabinet today held its first meeting outside of Castille, venturing to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk this morning.

The PM said that the scope behind these meetings is to bring the Cabinet closer to the people, and to understand the challenges faced by localities.

Dr Muscat said that the aim of the “almost unprecedented” initiative was to be able to hear the direct views of residents through their local representatives, the village mayors.

Marsaxlokk Labour Mayor Edric Micallef put forward the case for his locality, saying that the fact that it was chosen for the first Cabinet meeting augured well, calling it a signal that the area will be given special attention by the government.

He implored the government to reconsider the application to turn Delimara into a National Park, which was first filed in 1997.

He also welcomed the pending elimination of the use of heavy fuel oil.

After Mr Micallef’s presentation, the meeting continued behind closed doors.