Italy, Malta celebrate traditional friendship that binds both nations together

Abela toasted Malta’s excellent relations with Italy, delivering a speech journeying through hundreds of years of Italo-Maltese relations in architecture, art, culture, politics and economy.

“Italy was Malta’s gateway to the European continent as regards the diffusion of culture and new ideas, including that of the nation-state.  It was only in the late nineteenth century that Maltese culture began to be influenced by a wider spectrum of European traditions, mainly English, but its origins remain largely rooted in Italian culture,” Abela said.

Abela said Malta was ready to mediate in any way to bring the countries of North Africa closer to Europe. “I believe that the effective cooperation, during the past weeks, between Malta, Italy, Libya, Switzerland, Slovenia and Spain to work out a satisfactory solution to some visa issues is a good example of the results which may be achieved through dialogue between all parties.”

Next year, Italy will celebrate 150 years from its unification. Abela reminded his audience that at the time of the Risorgimento, the Italian movement for unification during the first half of the 19th century, numerous Italian political exiles found refuge in Malta, among them Nicola Fabrizi, Michele Amari and Francesco Crispi who later became the Prime Minister of the unified Kingdom of Italy for two times.

Malta is traditionally a close friend of Italy: since 1973, an Italian military mission has been hosted on Malta. The first of five financial protocols was concluded in 1980, making up for the decrease in revenue following the expiry of the defence agreement with Great Britain. The last protocol signed in 2002 helped to modernize infrastructure and restore cultural treasures.

Italy is also one of Malta’s foremost trading partners, with commercial exchanges having reached €1 billion in 2008 and the country remains a favourite destination for Maltese tourists. Additionally the Italian institute of culture was inaugurated in 1971 and is very active and instrumental in promoting Italian culture in Malta. Italy has also supported Malta’s bid to host the European Asylum Support Office.

More photos from the official visit