UN General Assembly
1972

236. In the Mediterranean, an area with which my country is intimately concerned, the problems of pollution derive from each of these two threats. Last July, Malta took the lead in convening a meeting of Mediterranean States to discuss matters of common concern affecting the Mediterranean, not least the problem of pollution. It is hoped that that initiative will be followed by other concrete steps to strengthen regional co-operation in matters relating to the human environment within the global strategy which was endorsed at Stockholm, among others. 237. One of the recommendations made by the Stockholm Conference concerned the establishment of a 54-member Governing Council for Environmental Programs and the creation of a secretariat to service it. The delegation of Malta, on that occasion, offered the capital of my country, Valletta, as a possible site for the environment secretariat. Today, I should like to repeat that offer.