On the occasion of the fourth session of the Tunisian-Maltese commission on tourism, and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malta and Tunisia, the “Month of Malta” was launched on Thursday evening with the opening of a “Malta Hanina” exhibition at the Tunis City Museum, the Palais Kheireddine.

Among the art objects on show are paintings by Alfred Chircop, one of the best abstract artists in Malta, who was awarded the Gold Medal by the City of Valletta in 1990, and Celia Borg Cardona, who paints the places where the Maltese like to meet.

Sculptor Ivan Fenech is showing sculptures in metal and steel while Patrick Fenech, who lectures in photography at the Faculty of Education and is one of the best-known photographers in Malta, is exhibiting a fascinating tapestry of images. Artist Pierre Portelli analyses through his works the process of change and the meetings of the social classes.

The exhibition also includes Maltese traditional costumes and photos of contemporary Malta with its streets, its churches and its new buildings.

Another section of the exhibition shows a selection of Maltese silverware, especially by Victor Azzopardi, whose family has been in this business for four generations since 1898 and whose work shows the influence of Genoese silver craftsmen on Maltese silver tradition.

Maltese music was played by Maltese troupe Nafra in front of the museum as the exhibition was opened by the Tunisian Minister for Tourism, Tijani Haddad, and his Maltese counterpart, Francis Zammit Dimech in the presence of the Maltese ambassador in Tunisia and the mayor of Tunis, Abbès Mohsen.

The exhibition Malta Hanina will remain open till 10 February.

At the end of the talks, the two ministers signed an agreement to strengthen the tourist attractions of both countries in far-flung countries.

This includes a five-year plan that offers joint programmes to distant destinations.

The first market to be tapped will be the Chinese one, followed by the Japanese, Indian and American markets. Links to both countries will appear on the websites of the two countries.