Similar deal with Libya being looked into

Following the joint oil exploration and exploitation agreement signed between Malta and Tunisia on Monday, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said the government did not exclude the possibility of signing a similar agreement with Libya, adding that discussions with Tripoli had started on a technical level in January and would continue in the coming months.

"We have excellent relations with Libya as we have with Italy. Joint oil exploration is possible with neighbours on all our sides," Dr Frendo said yesterday. Speaking during a press conference, he had to raise his voice to be heard over the loud din coming in from a carnival defilé outside the Foreign Ministry building in Valletta.

A call to strike a joint oil exploration deal with Libya came last month from former Foreign Minister John Dalli who said in a newspaper interview that joint oil exploration was the only practical solution to solve border disputes over oil exploration.

Dr Frendo said the agreement with Tunisia had come about thanks to a firm political commitment expressed by both governments and, most of all, due to the will expressed to him last week by Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

"The agreement is a breakthrough because it is a practical solution which overcomes the long-disputed areas which have great potential," Dr Frendo said, adding that the signing of the agreement had been pending for 35 years.

The agreement makes the area more attractive for foreign companies involved in oil exploration, he added.

A group of experts appointed by the two countries within the next two weeks will determine the exact coordinates of the continental shelf and will have three months to report back to the two sides.

The experts will also have to consider any possible rights of third countries.

Asked whether a "joint" agreement meant that the Malta-Tunisia partnership was laid on a 50-50 basis, Dr Frendo said this still had to be determined and depended on the rapporteurs' findings, adding he could not give further details at this point in time.