Malta will be sending a business and political delegation to Libya, once Tripoli is no longer a warzone, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening.

Speaking at the end of a Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meeting held to discuss the situation in Libya, Dr Gonzi said that once this happened, Malta would be able to explore the possibility of flights to Tripoli and the functioning of its port. The visit, he said, will be planned with the MCESD.

The Prime Minister said that the government had originally been thinking of a visit to Benghazi but when Libya’s Transitional National Council took over Tripoli and was moving there, the trip would now be to Tripoli.

“We hope that Maltese businesses recover what they lost and we will provide help for them to make the best of new opportunities,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that Malta would continue to help the TNC regain stability.

Stability in Libya was important for Malta and the government wanted to see Maltese investment regaining rhythm.

“Now we are working on what we should do in the coming weeks.”

The Libyan population, Dr Gonzi said, should be allowed to manage the revolution it wanted and which it attained with such sacrifice and in which many lost their lives

The Malta-Libya mixed commission mixed commission was being reconstituted so there would be a forum which could discuss the details of certain contracts between Libya, Libyan companies and Maltese companies.

Although there were enterprises which were functioning, the situation in Tripoli still needed to stabilise, Dr Gonzi said.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime MInister outlined developments in Libya since the MCESD’s last meeting on the situation in March.

The Prime Minister noted that, since then, there were two major developments - the TNC entered Tripoli and was moving its base there and Malta’s gradually recognised the council as the country’s official government.

The Maltese government had started by condemning Muammar Gaddafi, it then declared that Gaddafi’s government was not legitimate. Later, it recognised the council as the sole interlocutor for the people of Libya and more recently as the country’s official government.

Malta was among the first five countries in Europe to do so and among the first 10 in the world.

The government’s priorities now were to continue offering humanitarian assistance as well as public and private expertise to facilitate Libya’s transition to a democracy.

Malta was also to continue being active in the process to unfreeze Libya’s frozen assets so that these would be used by the Libyan people in the rebuilding of their country.

In future, Malta wanted to collaborate with the new Libyan government on priorities for both countries.

Developments in Libya, he said, not only affected the investment of Maltese companies there but also companies which exported to Libya, this being one of their main markets.

This also had a direct impact on the country’s economy.

In a position paper prepared purposely for the meeting, the Malta Employers Association proposed the setting up of a proactive and business driven embassy.

"The embassy needs to be well resourced with personnel familiar with the territory, accessible to business and who are competent to implement the strategy for Libya.

"Once again we are encouraging government to ensure that Malta Enterprise works closely with the embassy and provides tangible results in this area.

"We are also recommending that Malta has proper and professional representation in Benghazi and Tripoli."

The MCESD meeting was called by the MEA.

It said about its paper:

"This document establishes the need to prioritise and facilitate the continuation of business which had already existed in Libya before the uprising and to protect the interests of the companies and the workers involved.

"It proposes a number of initiatives which would promote Maltese business interests, and which would also help in the physical and institutional re‐building of Libya.

"The document stresses the need to act fast and involve persons who are familiar with doing business in Libya together with a proactive and business driven embassy."

The MEA’s paper can be read in the link below.

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