The long-standing diplomatic row between Libya and Switzerland came to an end yesterday, as Malta was thanked for being one of the countries instrumental in helping to reach an agreement.
The row began with the Swiss arrest of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Hannibal two years ago and reached its peak in February when Libya began refusing entry visas to all nationals from Schengen countries after Switzerland imposed a Schengen-visa blacklist on 188 Libyan officials.
The dispute also affected Maltese businessmen who ended up stranded in Libya for a short time while hundreds of Maltese could not travel there for work. The visa issue was resolved in March when the EU announced it would again be granting visas to the blacklisted Libyans.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and representatives from Spain, Switzerland and Slovenia, to celebrate the agreement. 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 between the two countries.
"It was a cordial, almost jovial meeting," Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said after an hour-long discussion held under a tent in Col. Gaddafi's official residence in Tripoli.
Dr Gonzi added that a number of other issues were discussed including immigration, Afghanistan and the Middle East, in order to establish more ways of cooperating together on other issues.
During the meeting, Malta's bid to host the first 5+5 meeting in a number of years was endorsed by Italy and Libya, Dr Gonzi said, strengthening the chance of the meeting happening in Malta.
The meeting would involve Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia in order to seek more cooperation between North African and Southern European states.
There was also discussion of a bilateral meeting to renew Malta's long-standing peace and friendship agreement with Libya which could take place in either of the countries in the coming weeks or months, Dr Gonzi said.
"Gaddafi has an open invitation to visit Malta," he said, referring to the visit that Col. Gaddafi promised he would make to the island. No date has yet been set.
He added that the two countries had a lot of mutual interests, including investment, oil and education.
Spain's and Switzerland's foreign ministers left Libya shortly after the meeting, together with Swiss businessman Max Goeldi who was released from prison after being detained in Tripoli since 2008.
But the Prime Ministers of Malta, Italy and Slovenia stayed on to dine with Col. Gaddafi in the evening.
Mr Goeldi's arrest was largely seen to be a reaction to the arrest of Mr Gaddafi's son Hannibal and his pregnant wife, who were held by Swiss police when two of their domestic staff claimed they had been mistreated by them at a Geneva hotel.
Diplomatic ties further deteriorated when a Swiss newspaper published leaked police mug shots of Hannibal in September 2008 that were taken at the time of his arrest.
Under the action plan signed yesterday, Switzerland expressed its apology for the unlawful publication of Mr Gaddafi's photographs in breach of Swiss law.
Mr Gaddafi's son has been awarded €1.5 million in compensation by the Geneva canton for the publication of the police mug shots.
In August 2009, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz paid a controversial visit to Tripoli, delivered an official apology for Mr Gaddafi's detention and signed an agreement to normalise ties.
Mr Merz also endorsed the creation of an arbitration tribunal, which was stipulated in today's action plan.
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. Gaddafi declare jihad, or holy war, against Bern in February over a Swiss ban on the construction of minarets, and a Libyan economic boycott of Swiss goods.