Malta

Malta is an independent nation located in the south from Italy and in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Its formal name is Republic of Malta and its politics is run by the parliament under the presidency. People speak in their local language called Maltese but English is also their official language as the country belongs to Commonwealth of Nations since it used to be a British territory. In addition, since the country is near from Italy, Italian is widely used in most cases.

The nation is comprised of three islands; Malta, Gozo and Comino. Since the whole square measure is very small, the nation is considered as a microstate; a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area typified by Vatican, Singapore and so forth. In 2004, Malta joined European Union (EU), so the currency in use is Euro today. The EU flag is displayed in official buildings in Malta with the nation’s flag made in red and white with a cross symbol of St. George.

Malta seems popular among Europeans for their vacation since it has good beaches to swim and surf as it is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, it is easily accessible from major airports in Europe such as Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome. Air Malta, the nation’s flag carrier, has several air routes connecting to Malta throughout Europe. As far as I confirm, Easyjet, the major LLC in Europe, has also flights to Malta, too.

Malta has some historical values; some archaeological findings showing the pre-history around the Mediterranean Sea, history of the ancient Roman Empire, exposure to Islamic occupations, culture of Christianity including activities of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (Knights of Malta). It is known that the US president George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, the chairman of the former Soviet Union, met in Malta and declared the end of Cold War together.

Relationship with Japan looks good. In 1921, the Crown Prince Hirohito (later, he would be known as Emperor Hirohito) visited Malta but even before the visit, Japan had sent official delegates to Malta. When the big earthquake hit Japan and its subsequent Tsunami and explosions at a nuclear power station happened in 2011, the Maltese embassy of Japan held a charity concert and donated the income for the affected people.