Speech by High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to Ghana at 49th anniversary of his country

Speech for National Day, 13 December 2023

Honourable Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture,

HRM Notse (Prof) Nii Nortey Owuo IV, President – Osu Stool Council

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

It’s a pleasure to welcome you to celebrate Malta’s 49th Republic Day. On this happy occasion, I wish to extend warm greetings to the members of the Maltese community and our Ghanaian friends for their contributions to the friendship between Malta and Ghana.

The High Commission of Malta in Ghana was established only in 2019; but since then, the relationship between our two countries grew from strength to strength. As we look ahead, it is my hope that the High Commission will continue working enthusiastically as a proponent for more exchanges between the people of Malta and the people of Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Malta’s priorities in Ghana are driven by the Malta-Africa Strategy for Partnership and aim at establishing a strong and lasting mutually beneficial collaboration with the country, region, and continent. We are also guided by the Joint Valletta Action Plan (that was agreed at the EU-Africa Summit on Migration in Valletta in 2015) with regards to empowering youth and creating opportunities that lead to sustainable growth and well-being.

The Government of Malta also makes contributions through Official Development Assistance (ODA) and initiatives mainly related to capacity building, knowledge sharing, upskilling, and training in fields such as healthcare and medicine, fisheries, tourism, and culture. We trust that increasing such exchanges will lead to more opportunities for learning from each other.

Malta intends to continue fostering exchanges in education, including in technical and vocational training and by expanding post-graduate scholarships in various fields. These include PhD fellowships offered by several Maltese authorities and academic institutions (such as the University of Malta, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC), international Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) and Malta Medicines Authority etc.).

We shall also continue promoting possibilities of public/private partnerships in developing sectors, such as Tourism and Culture, Sustainable Heritage Management and Preservation, and other fields that may create meaningful employment and benefit even the most marginalised communities.

Honourable Minister, Distinguished Guests,

Malta and Ghana are both committed to increasing cooperation and meaningful exchanges in Tourism and Culture, including knowledge transfer and cooperation on destination marketing strategies, public relations, advertising campaigns, heritage regeneration and repurposing, as well as exchanging tourism-related research and information.

In fact, it’s also our pleasure today to be inaugurating a photography exhibition, entitled Valletta-Accra: A dialogue between Mercantile Cities. The exhibition is part of an ongoing collaboration between Maltese and Ghanaian researchers (Architect Erica Giusta representing AP Valletta, Architect David Kojo Derban, Art and Design Writer Ann Dingli and Photographer Paul Addo), supported by the Malta Arts Council.

The purpose of the exhibition and the research project is to convey a dynamic perspective on heritage, rooted in the basic theoretical principle that heritage should not be static but rather in constant evolution. The conclusion that shall be taken from this is that sustainable heritage could be achieved by the full utilization and harmonisation of natural, cultural, folkloric, and historical and architectural resources fused together.

Through such partnerships, researchers, architects, artists, curators from both countries may share experience and knowledge with finding innovative solutions for preserving heritage and bringing it closer to the public. Valletta itself can be considered as a case study of great imaginative adaptation throughout the centuries. Its metamorphosis from a military fortress to a thriving business centre open to the Mediterranean, and capital of a young, independent state, generated a dynamic setting, perfect for the testing of new ideas.

We certainly hope that you find the exhibition interesting and that it would make you look both into the past, and into the future. A wise man, or woman, once said: “Our past does not define our future”. Our future indeed lies in our hands.

And on this note Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to propose a toast,

To the prosperity of Malta and Ghana,

To the friendship of our two Peoples,

To the health of all the guests present here,

Happy Republic Day! Afishapa!