Heritage Malta and Valencia’s cultural heritage foundation, the Fundacion Jaume II El Just, have signed an agreement of collaboration aimed at promoting Maltese and Spanish cultural heritage while highlighting the Mediterranean’s distinctive cultural features.

The agreement will pave the way for exhibitions in Malta and in Spain so as to increase each other’s awareness on their cultural history. Such exhibitions and other cultural events that are being planned reflect Heritage Malta’s and the Fundacion Jaume II El Just’s acknowledgement of the seminal role cultural heritage in promoting cooperation and understanding between different cultures as well as in fostering tourism, which plays an important role in both countries’ economies.

The institutions will also discuss ways and means by which they can encourage the exchange of artists, conservators, curators and cultural heritage managers in an effort to share knowledge and experience. Subjects and areas of research on which experts from each country can cooperate will also be identified.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Heritage Malta’s chairman Dr Mario Tabone said the agreement conforms to the agency’s policy of cultural diplomacy.

He augured that the agency’s future will see similar agreements with other international institutions.

Through the three-year long agreement, Heritage Malta and the Fundacion Jaume II El Just will also be giving ample importance to the Mediterranean’s cultural heritage and will therefore seek to initiate dialogue, and possibly cooperation, with non-EU members in the Mediterranean.