Friendship City agreed in 2025
Portsmouth has had historic ties with Malta and the city of Valletta for over 150 years through the Royal Navy particularly during both the First and Second World Wars.
Valletta was the main port area for naval ships and many Portsmouth service personnel worked and/or lived on the Mediterranean island for a period of their careers. In a similar way, many residents from Valletta came to Portsmouth in the 1970s to work at the city’s dockyard and there are now three generations of Maltese living in the city.
Today there are a variety of cultural, educational and economic interests where our cities have the potential for collaboration. Valletta has a very busy international port, it is a UNESCO world heritage centre and was European Capital of Culture in 2018.