On Friday evening, Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella opened an Omani government exhibition on "Tolerance, Understanding, Coexistence: Oman's message of Islam".The exhibition is being held at St James Cavalier in Valletta and will run until 9 November.In his address, Dr Vella observed that the exhibition coincides with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Maltese-Omani diplomatic relations. Recalling his visit to the Sultanate of Oman last June, Dr Vella said that diplomatic relations between the two countries will be strengthened and enhanced in the months ahead.The minister also underlined the presence of a significant number of Omani students at the University of Malta and that further discussions are envisaged to identify more avenues of cooperation in the educational sector as well as in the commercial and economic sectors.Dr Vella pointed out that the exhibition could not have come at a more opportune and important time - stressing that the need for tolerance, understanding and coexistence is imperative, particularly at this moment in time. Dr Vella said cultural diplomacy is a significant component of international relations and augured for more cultural cooperation between Malta and the Sultanate of Oman.Sheikh Ahmed bin Saud Al Siyabi, Secretary General at the Mufti Office, and Dr Mohamed Said Al-Mamari, Adviser at the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman also participated in the launch of the exhibition.