Malta envoy visits Khalsa College, explores student exchange, academic tie-ups

Historically, the presence of Indians in Malta, a small Mediterranean island nation, has been limited and quite recent, unlike other parts of the world. But the two countries share enough history to build their future relations on.

Malta High Commissioner Reuben Gauci, who visited the historic Khalsa College campus today, shared some facets of this shared history as he interacted with students and faculty. His visit was primarily with the aim of exploring cultural and academic ties with Punjab and India. “Both India and Malta were once part of the British colonial empire and we also share historical ties with Punjab,” he said. The High Commissioner traced the roots of the relationships between the two countries in the last quarter of the 19th century during the colonial period when Malta hosted British Indian troops on their way to Cyprus to support Turkey against Russian threats.

“Indian soldiers largely comprised Sikhs, and in World War I and World War II, passed through or were stationed at Malta as it was part of the British armed forces. We also share significant trade and commerce ties through the Bahiband Jati, a small but significant Hindu Sindhi community, known as Indian Maltese community, who began arriving in Malta in late 20th century and set up businesses in Malta. They contributed significantly to trade, culture and social exchange between the two countries,” said Gauci.

Gauci, who shared interest in extending academic ties and collaboration with Khalsa College, was apprised about the academic activities and achievements of the college by principal Dr Atam Randhawa. Dr Randhawa said that the potential academic collaboration between two countries is a welcome step. “Diplomatic relations between the two countries was established in 1965 only after Malta gained independence from its colonial master Britain. Thereafter, both the countries made frequent efforts to develop trade relations and people-to-people contacts. It is imperative that we capitalise on exploring student exchange and academic collaborations with Malta as it is one of the upcoming study destination, especially for students from Punjab.”

Gauci argued that India and Malta have vast potential to develop bilateral relations in the field of trade and investment, maritime cooperation, renewable energy, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry, tourism and people-to-people cultural contacts.

Malta is a Schengen country, meaning that no additional travel visa is required for other Schengen member countries including Italy, Germany, France and more. Also, Malta has seen the highest student visa approval rate in recent few years, opening doors for international students.