High Commissioner of Malta to Australia H.E. Mario Farrugia Borg visit to the New South Wales
The High Commissioner of Malta, H.E. Mario Farrugia Borg, embarked on his first visit to New South Wales, accompanied by Consul General of NSW Lawrence Buhagiar, from Thursday 11 till Monday 15 November 2021 since his appointment as High Commissioner of Malta to Australia in January 2021.
Upon arrival, the High Commissioner met with Mr. Paul Zammit OAM, Managing Director of Zammit Promotional Sales and former Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.
On 12th November 2021, the High Commissioner visited the Consulate General in Sydney, where HC held a meeting with all the staff. The High Commissioner had the opportunity to personally thank them for their hard work & care for the community.
Thereafter, the High Commissioner H.E. Mr. Mario Farrugia Borg paid a courtesy call to the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazely AC QC. Both stressed the excellent and longstanding relations between Malta and Australia and the many contributions of the Maltese of NSW to the Australian society.
The High Commissioner also was welcomed by the Maltese Community Council in NSW, led by its President, Ms. Miriam Friggieri, at the Maltese Resource Centre in West Parramatta, to discuss future ways of cooperation and develop new opportunities. The High Commissioner committed the Malta High Commission’s support and assistance to promote the interests of the Maltese community in Australia.
Subsequently, the High Commissioner visited the Members of the Preca Society in Sydney (M.U.S.E.U.M.), to whom he expressed his appreciation towards the dedication and the good values the society instills in the students who have crossed their paths. His Excellency also reiterated that the society makes Malta proud: a society that was founded in Malta and that
today is found across the globe, with Australia being one of the first outposts.
In the evening, the High Commissioner and Consul General met with the Australian Maltese Chamber of Commerce (AMCC) led by National President Chev. Sydney Borg where they discussed possibilities for further trade engagement and delegations.
Accompanied by his family and Consul-General in Sydney, the High Commissioner visited the residents of the St. Dominic’s Elderly Home in Blacktown, on 13 November 2021. The delightful evening was featured by a mass celebrated by Fr Tarcisio Micallef MSSP, and later on by a community dinner event organised by the La Valette Social Centre, Blacktown NSW. During his speech, the High Commissioner recalled that in Malta, the Maltese community in Australia is still dearly held in everyone’s thoughts – especially since most have relatives and loved ones in this geographically distant country. HC also reiterated the fervent need to keep Maltese cultural roots and values alive. H.E. Farrugia Borg met and thanked the President and members of the St. Nicholas Festa Committee for their hard work to retain the tradition as this feast is now part of an established Australian culture.
The following day, the High Commissioner and his family attended to mass, celebrated by Fr Tarcisio Micallef at the St Paul Fathers Chapel in Darlinghurst, followed by a visit to the Hamrun Club in Marsden Park. The Club President Joe Borg presented the High Commissioner with a plaque to commemorate this visit.
On the last day of his visit, the High Commissioner paid a visit to the George Cross Falcons Club in Cringilla, Wollongong where he met with the President and members of the Club. High Commissioner laid a wreath at the Anzacs Memorial of the George Cross Falcons Community Centre. H.E. Farrugia Borg thanked the club and its volunteers for their services to the Maltese Community.
Finally, the High Commissioner ended his visit by meeting Fr. Leonard Testa OFM Conv. who presented High Commissioner a memento containing a photographic collection of the first Maltese who settled in Wollongong. H.E. Farrugia Borg expressed his gratitude for his work and dedication for the Maltese community.
