From November 6 to 8, a parliamentary delegation from Malta attended the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, themed “Engage, Empower, Sustain: Charting the Course for Resilient Democracy.” The delegation was led by Deputy Speaker David Agius and included Government Deputy Whip Davina Sammut Hili and Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar.
The conference agenda featured the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), a debate titled “Votes vs Likes – The Role of Parliament in Strengthening Democratic Resilience in an Age of Fake News and Synthetic Media,” and the election of a new CPA Chairperson. The Maltese delegation cast their votes in the election, resulting in Dr. Christopher Kalila from Zambia being chosen as the new CPA Executive Committee Chairperson.
CPA President Ben Franklin and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered keynote addresses at the conference.
During their visit, the delegation participated in an interview with Victor Vella from SBS radio, which will be broadcast to the approximately 230,000 Maltese citizens living in Australia. Discussion topics included the promotion of the Maltese language, Maltese cultural values, and other areas of shared interest.
The delegation also attended a ceremony at Australia’s National Monument to Migration, where 446 inscriptions from 62 countries were added to the “Welcome Wall” honoring migrants. Families Cauchi from Mellieħa and Fenech from Sliema, who migrated to Australia nearly 60 years ago, were recognized at the event. The ceremony was also attended by Malta’s Consul General to Sydney, Lawrence Buhagiar.
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