Following a meeting with H.E. Noora al-Kaabi, Culture and Youth Minister in the UAE and Chairperson of the Founcation of Sheikh Zayed University, the Ambassador fo Malta in the UAE, Maria Camilleri Calleja, was the Guest Speaker at a Lecture entitle “Malta’s Mediterranean Vocation: At the Crossroads of Peace” moderated by Associate Professor and American-Lebanese Film-Maker Prof. Nezar Andary in the presence of ovr 50 professors, lecturers and students from the university.​

Ambassador Camilleri Calleja spoke about how Malta was shaped by its history as much as its aspirations for a better future, always striving for more successful economic outlook and social development in the country. Like the UAE, Malta is devoid of natural resources: water and food are a daily issue, but same as the UAE, Malta has sought to couple innovation and entrepreneurship for survival and success in an ever changing world.

Students and professors alike were interested in Malta’s economic model, in Malta’s role in a region peppered with conflicts as is the Mediterranean, in how Malta is helping to de-escalate conflict in the Mediterranean, and certainly in the sustainability of Malta’s constitutional neutrality. Ultimately, this lead to a healthy and inclusive debate which will spurred Prof. Andary to express the desire to establish further links with Malta’s academic core.

This was the start of an interesting journey of academic cooperation between the two countries.