Today, we celebrate Malta's membership of the Commonwealth family of nations. We celebrate our shared values, our commitment to peace, democracy and human rights and our determination to cooperate with each other in a spirit of solidarity.

This year, we also recognise in particular the crucial role education plays in building strong communities, generating growth and creating opportunities for all Commonwealth people.

The Commonwealth is a modern, vibrant network of people who, through their knowledge and expertise, help each other to grow. These partnerships contribute to a global dialogue in which citizens from every part of the Commonwealth benefit from each other's skills and experience.

We, in Malta, feel stronger knowing that, through the Commonwealth, we are connected to 52 other nations with which we share a working language, certain fundamental values, similar institutions, and a joint commitment to build peace and deliver prosperity to all our people.

This year, Malta has the honour to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November. I look forward to welcoming my fellow heads of government to this meeting and to our country.

The Commonwealth is also a unique forum for global diplomacy, which uses the power of consensus to make multilateralism work. As a small island state, we, in Malta, benefit from the Commonwealth's commitment to give small states a voice on the international stage and to help us strengthen our resilience in a fast moving global environment.

We have all greatly benefited from being part of the Commonwealth network along the years and we feel stronger knowing that we will continue to do so in the future.

On this Commonwealth Day, let us all rededicate ourselves to the association and to the values and goals it represents.