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The perseverance of our association with the assistance of the x-president of
the Auckland Malta Society, Mr. Charles Cini and also thanks to the support and
help of the Honourable Prime Minister of New Zealand Ms. Helen Clarke. We
finally achieved the long awaited Bilateral Agreement between Malta and New
Zealand signed at Valletta on July 2004.
Now we can boast of being equal to our Maltese Australian immigrant neighbours
across the Tasman. The agreement has different facets to it but the most
important parts are the Portability of Pension Schemes, the Working Holiday
opportunities and exchange of Educational Scholarships.
To celebrate this we already have had our first Scholarship winner Joany Grima,
working within the Maltese Foreign Affairs Ministry helping out with the
Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that was held in Malta in
November 2005.
Another achievement for the Maltese Association was being able to put our
Newsletter (our vehicle of information) on line and thanks to Mr. J J. Cassar
who resides in Scotland one can read all of the Wellingtonian on
www.allmalta.com/wellington/newsletter. This will be updated bi monthly.
For the past year or so The Maltese Association of Wellington Inc., has proudly
represented Malta on Europe Day held annually at Wellington in May and also The
Upper Hutt International Festival held annually in November. Our members have
also been taking part in the Carol Singing Extravaganza held by the different
Ethnic Communities annually at the Botanic Gardens in Wellington.
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