Malta can serve as a catalyst to bring the Mediterranean together, Foreign Affairs George Vella said during a Med Forum 2016 press conference held this morning. 

“We think that in our position as members of the EU but also being members of other organisations such as Unesco and the Anna Lindh Foundation, we can deliver and act as a meeting place,” the Minister said.

The forum, which is taking place today and tomorrow, brings together civil society groups to encourage intercultural dialogue across the Mediterranean region. Practitioners, policy-makers, media and international donors are all in Malta to discuss problems faced by the region.

According to Dr Vella, Malta could act as a neutral meeting place and provide an ideal atmosphere for discussions to take place in.

He also called for better engagement of young people, adding that their views and actions should be considered when dealing with problems in the Mediterranean.

“Extremism, unemployment, terrorism, these are the things we have to talk about. We cannot talk about these things to the youths, but we should talk with youths.”