Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Chris Fearne met with United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Discussions focused on cooperation between Malta and UNOPS, including Malta's €130,000 contribution to a children's healthcare project in Syria, as well as maritime security and its impact on global food security.
During the meeting, Moreira da Silva thanked Malta for its €130,000 contribution towards a project at Ibn Roshed Hospital in Aleppo. The funding will provide a specialised heating and cooling system needed to carry out specialised cardiac surgery on newborn babies.
Moreira da Silva also expressed his appreciation for Malta's cooperation with UNOPS on humanitarian initiatives, including an operation through which Malta facilitated the delivery of 250 tonnes of flour to Gaza last year.
Minister Fearne said that these initiatives are a concrete example of how Malta can provide direct and tangible assistance to communities affected by conflict and humanitarian crises.
Discussions also addressed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the work of the Task Force established by the United Nations Secretary-General and coordinated by UNOPS. The Task Force is working on practical measures to make maritime transport safer and more predictable, with an initial focus on the transportation of fertilisers and the raw materials needed for their production.
Minister Fearne stressed the importance of a coordinated approach across the United Nations system to keep essential trade flows, particularly those involving fertilisers, open and stable. He noted that any disruption to the transportation of these products could have serious consequences for agricultural production, food prices and food security, particularly in the most vulnerable countries, at a time when the effects of El Niño are placing further pressure on global food systems.
The Minister also reiterated Malta's readiness to continue exploring how its maritime expertise, including its vessel-monitoring capabilities and secure information-sharing systems, could contribute to United Nations efforts to protect civilian maritime transport and safeguard global flows of food and fertilisers.
