President Akufo-Addo is in Valletta, Malta, to deepen bilateral relations between Ghana and the Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean seas, Malta.
The President and his entourage arrived at the Malta International Airport at about 17:40 local time in Malta (16:40 GMT) and were received by the Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, Carmelo Abela, Malta’s Ambassador to Ghana, Jean Claude Galea, Fiona Formosa, Permanent Secretary, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, Carmel Briffa, Secretary to the Presidency of Malta, and Kerstin Spiteri, Director of Protocol, Malta, and Ghana’s High Commissioner to Malta, Mercy Bampo Addo.
Schedule of the State Visit
During the first day of the two-day state visit, President Akufo Addo will meet with the Ghana community in Malta where he is expected to brief them on developments in Ghana. On day two, an official welcoming ceremony will be held at St. George’s Square for President Akufo Addo.
The President will subsequently call on the President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, at the San Anton Palace. The two leaders will exchange gifts, have a tête-a-tête session and hold an official meeting together with their respective delegations.
The two countries after the official meeting will sign several Memoranda of Understanding. President Akufo Addo and President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, will subsequently address the Press after which President Akufo Addo, will be accompanied by his host to sign the Visitor’s Book at the Maltese Presidency.
The War Memorial
The schedule of the President will take him to the Malta War Memorial in Floriana, the fortified town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, where he will lay a wreath at the war memorial. The War Memorial is an Obelisk in the form of a Latin cross originally erected in memory of the dead of the First World War but now revered also as a memorial to the dead of both world wars. This monument was inaugurated by Governor Sir Charles Bonham Carter in 1938. The four plaques adorning this monument are the Maltese Flag with the George Cross, a scroll by President Roosevelt, another by King George VI praising Malta’s sacrifices in the Second World War, and another by King George V who praised Malta for its role in the First World War.
Courtesy Calls/Tree Planting
President Akufo Addo, will also receive the leader of the opposition in Malta, Adrian Delia, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Angelo Farrugia, in separate meetings when they pay a courtesy call on him. The visit of the President will be climaxed with a tree planting ceremony at the San Anton Palace, the official residence of the President of Malta.
The State of Malta
The Maltese Islands are positively mythic. The narrow meandering streets of their towns and villages lead to the main square, which is invariably dominated by the huge baroque church. As the countryside is dotted with medieval towers, wayside chapels and the oldest known human structures in the world, the Islands have rightly been described as an open-air museum.
The Maltese archipelago lies virtually at the centre of the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km north of Africa. The archipelago consists of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino with a total population of over 400,000 inhabitants occupying an area of 316 square kilometers.
Malta is the largest island and the cultural, commercial and administrative centre. Gozo is the second largest island and is more rural, characterised by fishing, tourism, crafts and agriculture. Comino, the smallest of the trio, has one hotel and is largely uninhabited. The Islands have superbly sunny weather, attractive beaches, a thriving nightlife and 7,000 years of intriguing history, thereby providing a great deal to see and do.
Brief History of Malta
Maltese constitutional development has had a rather turbulent history. Under the Order of St John, from 1530 to 1798, democracy was unknown even as an inspiration.
The French period was short-lived, from 1798 to 1800, and was marked by an armed insurrection within months of its commencement. With the approval of the King of the Two Sicilies, whom the Maltese still recognized as their lawful sovereign, the British were invited in and the French eventually had to leave.
In 1814, by the Treaty of Paris, Malta became a British possession. Its first Constitution was granted in 1835. However, its Council of Government was by nomination.
In 1887, for the first time in its history, Malta acquired representative government through a Council which was composed of a majority of Maltese elected members. By the turn of the century, the political situation became tense as the 1887 Constitution was slowly dismantled until representative government was revoked altogether in 1903. The political aspirations of the Maltese grew stronger and in February 1919 a newly constituted National Assembly unanimously resolved to request the British government to grant a new constitution with full political and administrative autonomy. Events came to a head on 7th June, 1919, when riots broke out as a result of which four Maltese were killed by British troops.
This crisis paved the way for the formation of a responsible government through a new constitution, granted in 1921. Thus Malta had its first government composed of Ministers who were themselves members of and responsible to a Legislature which the Maltese people elected. Malta obtained independence from the UK in 1964 and became a Republic in 1974. Thirty years later, in 2004, Malta joined the European Union.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare
