PM touches down to red carpet in Tripoli

In his first official visit since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will be meeting newly-appointed Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib in Tripoli today.

The two are expected to hold talks this morning after which Dr Gonzi will meet members of the Maltese community in the Libyan capital.

The Prime Minister is accompanied on this one-day visit by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech.

‘A common history’

The delegation was also joined by Malta’s ambassador to Libya Victor Camilleri, who started his permanent residency in the country last week.

The Maltese delegation landed at Tripoli International Airport yesterday afternoon and was given red carpet treatment. They were welcomed by Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagour.

Talking to journalists, Mr Abushagour said Dr Gonzi’s visit was “very significant” to Libya because Malta was a neighbour that shared “a common history”.

“We appreciate the support Malta gave Libya during the revolution. It was one of the first countries to recognise the transitional council and a lot of humanitarian aid, especially to Misurata, came from Malta,” he said.

Common interest issues such as trade, he added, will be on the agenda of today’s meeting between the two prime ministers.

“Libya is obviously passing through a reconstruction phase and we want our neighbours to help us in this,” Mr Abushagour said.

Later on this morning Dr Gonzi may also meet the Libyan pilots who at the start of the fighting in February defected to Malta. He will then fly to Misurata for a meeting with the city council.

The drive from the airport to the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, where the Maltese delegation is staying, showed little signs of a country that has just passed through a bloody conflict, bar one bombed out bunker. What appear to be Christmas decorations also adorn the main thoroughfares in Tripoli. The new Libyan flag adopted by the revolutionaries flies from almost every mast and is also painted on walls and trees. Alongside graffiti messages hailing the free Libya, one message stood out: “Gaddafi: game over”.

The Prime Minister and his delegation are expected back this evening.