Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia held official talks with Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Mustafa Sentop.
A tête a tête meeting took place between the speakers of the respective parliaments, followed by official talks. Speaker Farrugia expressed his gratitude to his Turkish counterpart for his invitation and hospitality and noted that this year Malta and Türkiye commemorate the 55th anniversary since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. He added that both countries enjoy excellent relations and augured that these cordial relations will continue to be nourished and developed.
Speaker Farrugia said that Türkiye is an essential partner of the European Union and Malta strongly believes that Türkiye has a very important role in maintaining a secure and stable environment in the Eastern Mediterranean. Speaker Farrugia and Speaker Sentop agreed that all parliamentary efforts should be made to explore all possible avenues with both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments, leading to a peaceful solution, this is in the light of Speaker Farrugia’s interventions earlier this year in the IPU Assembly, the Conference of Speakers of the EU, and the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of Small European States.
The two dignitaries discussed the issue of sanctions and noted the importance that these be also discussed at the level of national parliaments before decisions are taken at the highest level, as is the case with issues dealing with climate change.
The Maltese delegation accompanying Speaker Farrugia was composed of Government Whip Andy Ellul and Ivan Bartolo. Malta’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Theresa Cutajar, was also part of the Maltese delegation.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister