Welsh celebrate St David's Day

Anyone passing by the British High Commission in Ta' Xbiex yesterday would have noticed the Welsh flag flying proudly next to the Union Jack as St David's Day was celebrated by members of the Welsh nation living in Malta.

St David's Day is celebrated worldwide annually on March 1.

Malta has close links with Wales, with the prospect of still greater cooperation in the years to come. Pembroke (Malta) is twinned with Pembroke (Wales). Members from both communities, including schoolchildren, visit each other regularly.

Several members of the victorious Maltese national rugby team reside in Wales. Many Maltese ministers and MPs completed their post-graduate studies in Wales, one of them being Malta's first EU Commissioner, Joe Borg. Malta and Wales also share the distinction of having two official languages.

To commemorate St David's Day, British High Commissioner Vincent Fean and Mrs Anne Fean, recently hosted a reception at their residence in Naxxar.

Among the guests were university rector Prof. Roger Ellul Micallef (who had begun his post-graduate studies in Cardiff) as well as the deans of various faculties at the University of Malta.

Other guests included Victor Scicluna from the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, which is actively developing links with the University of Glamorgan, Evarist Bartolo, MP (who studied in Cardiff) and the mayor of Pembroke, Joseph Zammit.

Mr Fean read out a message from Rhodri Morgan, First Minister for Wales, outlining Wales's growing contribution on the international stage.