PM in Libya: Malta thanked for assisting to solve Libyan-Swiss spat

Libya and Italy have indicated they are pleased with Malta’s proposal to host the next 5+5 meeting, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening.

He was speaking in Libya this evening following a meeting during which Malta, Italy, Slovenia and Spain were thanked by the Libyan and Swiss governments for their interventions which led to the signing of an action plan this morning to solve a row which has seen Swiss businessman Max Goeldi stuck in north African state since the spat broke out in July 2008.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Slovene Prime Minister Borut Pahor and the foreign ministers of Spain and Switzerland met Libyan leader Col. Muammar Ghaddafi under a tent at the Libyan leader residence in Tripoli.

Dr Gonzi described the meeting as “cordial and jovial” during which “everyone was in good spirits”. He said the meeting also discussed other matters, including immigration.

Dr Gonzi said Malta was also hoping to have very high political meetings with Libya to renew cooperation agreements.

He said that Malta was quite instrumental for Libya to reach its agreement with Switzerland and Foreign Minister Tonio Borg, who was also in Libya, had come up with proposals to help establish the agreement.

Spain’s and Switzerland’s foreign ministers left after the meeting together with Mr Goeldi. The prime ministers and Dr Borg are dining with Col. Ghaddafi. They had pre-dinner drinks outdoors during which Dr Gonzi, Mr Berlusconi and Mr Pahor watched a football match.

Mr Goeldi had been at the centre of a diplomatic spat sparked off by the brief arrest in Geneva in July 2008 of Ghaddafi's son Hanibal.

He was detained in Tripoli in 2008, along with another Swiss businessman, after Hannibal and his pregnant wife were held by Swiss police when two of their domestic staff charged they had been mistreated by the couple at a Geneva hotel.

Diplomatic ties further deteriorated when a Swiss newspaper published leaked police mugshots of Hannibal in September 2008 that were taken at the time of his arrest.

Under the action plan, Switzerland expressed its apology for the unlawful publication of Mr Ghaddafi's photographs in breach of Swiss law.

Hannibal had been awarded 1.5 million euros in compensation by Geneva canton over the publication of the police mugshots.

In April, a Swiss court ruled in favour of Hannibal in a case against the canton and local newspaper Tribune de Geneve over the publication of the two photos, but it refused to award damages.

In August 2009, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz paid a controversial visit to Tripoli, delivered an official apology for Mr Ghaddafi's detention and signed an agreement to normalise ties.

Merz also endorsed the creation of an arbitration tribunal, that was stipulated in today's action plan.

The other Swiss businessmen was allowed to return home in February and the following month Libya and the European Union lifted travel bans that were imposed in the wake of the row.

Following Hannibal's arrest, Tripoli halted oil deliveries to Switzerland, withdrew its funds from Swiss banks and expelled Swiss firms doing business in Libya, while demanding that those responsible for Hannibal's arrest face trial.

The spat also saw Col. Ghaddafi declare jihad, or holy war, against Bern in late February and call for an economic boycott of Swiss goods.