In the margins of the Maltese Presidency
of the United Nations Security Council, Minister for Foreign and European
Affairs and Trade Ian Borg held a number of bilateral meetings, with the
Presidency’s agenda being the main priority to these meetings.
During Tuesday 14th February 2023,
Minister Borg had a meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations
António Guterres. During this meeting, the Secretary General thanked our
country for the fact that Malta has brought forward for discussion a number of
important topics in relation to peace and security around the world, including
climate change and the Russian Federation’s invasion of
Ukraine. Together with Guterres, Minister Ian Borg also spoke about the latest
developments in Libya.
Another meeting that took place on Tuesday
was with the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Csaba
Kőrösi. During this meeting, the discussion focused on the themes and meetings
planned which Malta shall be leading forward as President of the United Nations
Security Council during February. Minister Borg and President Kőrösi exhchanged
their views to foresee that the work of the General Assembly and the Security
Council complement each other in the best possible manner during this important
time.
Minister Ian Borg also met with Head of the
United Nations Office of Counterterrorism Vladimir Voronkov. During this meeting, our country’s role as member
and even President of the Security Council was discussed to ensure an effective
work collaboration with this office. Minister Borg specified that more work is
needed to effectively address the problem of terrorism. He outlined how Malta
believes that through literacy, a number of radicalisation problems can be
addressed.