1989: The end of the Cold War is sealed in Malta

The historic Malta Summit witnessed the meeting between US President George H.W. Bush and U.S.S.R. President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin wall in December 1989. It was the second face-to-face encounter between the two world leaders after the meeting with President Ronald Reagan, in New York a year earlier. News reports of the time referred to the Malta Summit as the most important since 1945, when Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt agreed on a post-war plan for Europe at Yalta.

On February 2, 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, Malta was the venue for the Malta Conference, an equally significant meeting between US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill prior to their Yalta meeting with Joseph Stalin. The Malta Summit of 1989 signaled a reversal of many of the decisions taken at the 1945 Yalta Conference.

2005: Malta hosts 38 Heads of State from Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Each time, the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by the nation's respective Prime Minister or President. Most meetings include an appearance by Queen Elizabeth II, the titular Head of the Commonwealth.

The 2005 CHOGM event was held in Valletta, Malta from November 25-27. Out of the 52 countries that attended the meeting, 38 were represented by their Heads of State or Government. The opening ceremony of the meeting included an address by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Heads of Government conveyed their sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Malta for the warm hospitality extended to them and for the excellent arrangements made for the meeting.