Queen to open Commonwealth meeting in Malta

Meetings will take place at a number of historical venues around Malta, while the Heads of Government retreat will be held at Fort St. Angelo, situated in Vittoriosa.

As the clock ticks to a United Nations climate conference in Paris starting Monday, leaders including France’s Francois Hollande, Britain’s David Cameron and the UN’s Ban Ki-moon will try to open the door to a landmark accord for taming greenhouse gases.

Prince Charles, the 67-year-old heir to the British throne, is attending the summit with his mother, but will not automatically succeed her as Commonwealth leader.

Queen Elizabeth II arrived in a rainswept Malta on Thursday (Nov 26) for a memory-evoking state visit to the Mediterranean island where she lived as a carefree princess in the early 1950s.

Stressing the critical importance of the Commonwealth’s contribution to next month’s Paris deliberation on climate change, the Prince of Wales said: “The Commonwealth, its members and businesses have a huge role to play”.

On Friday, Queen Elizabeth is expected to address the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth summit for what might be the last time, depending on where future biennial gatherings are held.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has arrived in Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting where climate change is expected to top the agenda.

Muscat said he was targeting strong outcomes rooted in “realism” as the organisation tackles issues of “direct concern” – namely climate change, extremism, trade and migration issues.

Since then, she said, she had been privileged to witness the transformation of Malta.

Prime ministers attending include Canada’s new leader, Justin Trudeau, Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif and Pakalitha Mosisili from Lesotho.

“To my mind, at least, it utterly beggars belief that we will be able to cope in any realistic way with the current consumption patterns of such a growing population”, he said.

She will open the summit in Valletta with a speech to the delegates, presidents and prime ministers from numerous member states. The Commonwealth’s most glorious days, he said, were when it did speak out.