The President of Malta has presented MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago with the island nation’s Order of Merit, an honor reserved only for those who have demonstrated exceptional merit in the service of Malta.
At the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, Matla's capital, during the annual Republic Day Honors List ceremony, Vago received the decoration as a guest of Maltese President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.
Non-Maltese citizens are seldom selected for the award; however, the Government of Malta chose Vago, an Italian who has lived in Switzerland since 2001, because of his and MSC Cruises’ substantial and continuing contribution to the Maltese cruise industry and its economy, MSC Cruises said.
MSC Cruises has called at Malta since 2003. In 2015, MSC Cruises brought more than 230,000 visitors to the island, with an additional 330,000 guests scheduled to visit in 2016.
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