H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta participated in the official welcome ceremony at the beginning of a historic state visit to the Republic of Chile. This is the first state visit by a Maltese Head of State to the Republic of Chile.
At the La Moneda Palace, in Santiago, President Coleiro Preca was welcomed by H.E. Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile, which was followed by a private tete-a-tete meeting between both Presidents.
President Coleiro Preca and President Bachelet have most recently met during an event, which focused on the empowerment of women and issues of gender-based violence. The event was organised by the Council of World Women Leaders, of which President Coleiro Preca is a member.
The President of Malta said that she is proud and reassured that they both “stand in solidarity with all peoples who are experiencing exclusion, violence and precarity, simply because of their gender,” and said that she is even more proud to have President Bachelet as a committed ally in the work which must be done, together, “to ensure that equality and equity become a reality in the lives of every women and girl in our world.”
President Coleiro Preca said that more must be done by the international community to speak out in support of the rights of women and girls across our world, and in particular, when we consider a United Nations report quoting data from the World Bank that women around the world, aged 15-44, are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war, and malaria.