THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT: The President and Mrs Vella visit the city of Cork which has links with Malta

President of Malta George Vella and Mrs Miriam Vella together with President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and Mrs Sabina Higgins visited the city of Cork on Thursday morning, which has links with Malta in environmental research.

They had an interesting discussion with a group of students at University College Cork, focusing among others on climate change and environmental protection. Two Maltese students, who had the opportunity to study nursing at this university through the Erasmus programme, were present at this meeting. Currently, there are 32 students from Malta studying at University College Cork.

In a comment to journalists after a short visit to the Honan chapel on the grounds of the university, President Vella spoke about the ongoing strong contacts between Malta and Ireland in the educational field, particularly in the science and medical fields. He explained that “efforts are being made to strengthen this relationship because it is a relationship that bears a lot of fruit.”

The two Presidents confirmed that the State Visit of President Vella to Ireland and the two visits of President Higgins to Malta last year continued to confirm the friendship between the two countries.

The Presidents also visited the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) within the university where they followed a presentation on the institute’s work, which focuses on the environmental challenges of climate change, circular economy, and healthy environment. Another presentation was delivered on the largest centre within it called MaREi (Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine), which collaborates with the University of Malta through projects in these fields.

Upon their arrival in Cork, President Vella and President Higgins, and their respective delegations, paid a courtesy call on the city’s Deputy Mayor, Mr Damian Boylan. The discussion focused on the history of the city of Cork, the regeneration of Cork’s harbour, and the city’s response to climate change and its impact on flooding.

Source: Office of the Prime Minister