Bilateral discussions between parliamentary institutions in Malta and Tunisia have greatly improved since the Tunisian Speaker’s visit to Malta on the occasion of the fourth conference of Presidents/Speakers of Euro-Mediterranean Parliaments held in Malta in February. Since then a Maltese-Tunisian Parliament-ary Friendship Group has been formed.

On his four-day visit to Tunisia, Mr Tabone is expected to hold high-level talks with senior Tunisian figures including Mr Mebazzaa, Foreign Affairs Minister Habib Ben Yahia, Trade Minister Mondher Zenaidi, Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Habib Haddad and Ali Chaouch, Secretary General of the Constitutional Democratic Rally, the party in government. Mr Tabone is also expected to pay a courtesy call on Tunisian President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Discussions with the Tunisian authorities will mainly focus on the strengthening of the parliamentary dimension between Malta and Tunisia, the development of an effective parliamentary diplomacy within the Euro-Mediterranean space and Malta’s Mediterranean dimension within an enlarged European Union. Both sides will take the opportunity to discuss ways and means of further consolidating the friendly relations between the two countries.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is accompanied by Foreign and European Affairs Committee member Michael Asciak, Opposition Whip and Member of the House Business Committee Joe Mizzi and Diplomatic Officer at the Speaker’s Secretariat Joe Mangion.