Libya will be setting up technical commissions to work on reviving agreements between Libya and Malta, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj said today.
Speaking after meeting Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in Tripoli, Mr Sarraj, who recently took over as head of the new unity government, said his country was also keen to see Air Malta resume its flights to Tripoli.
The meeting was held in a military base soon after Dr Muscat arrived in the Libyan capital, accompanied by Foreign Minister George Vella.
"The fact that this is the first delegation to meet the Libyan unity government in Tripoli is a strong political signal," Dr Muscat told his Libyan counterpart, adding that it could also be interpreted as a show of support at a European level.
Dr Muscat welcomed the setting up of the new unity government and said he looked forward to Malta reopening its embassy in Tripoli once the security situation stabilised further.
He said it said it was important that the Maltese embassy was adequately resourced especially in view of a possible flood of Schengen visa applications.
The two prime ministers discussed a range of other issues, particularly migration and the security situation.
Dr Muscat said this visit, was primarily meant to convey a strong political signal about the legitimacy of the Libyan unity government ahead of its swearing in.
He noted that he was the first prime minister to have talks with the unity government, which is still in the process of establishing its authority following a lengthy dispute which saw rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk.
Touching on the technical commissions which will be set up following this visit, he said that these would mainly focus on energy, fuel trafficking, migration, business and security.
"The Libyan government is very eager to resume technical talks on these issues, and they consider the resumption of air links between the two countries as an important pre-requisite."
Asked about the agreement signed in 2013 whereby Malta would purchase fuel consignments from Libya at advantageous rates, a very cautious Dr Muscat said that talks on this deal would resume within these commissions.
"The agreement was mentioned by the Libyans themselves and talks on its implementation will be part of these technical discussions. However, this was not a business trip but mainly a political one. There will be time in the coming months when we will be talking on the fuel deal."
Dr Muscat advised caution saying that it be would premature to expect any significant developments at such an early stage.
The Prime Minister also reiterated his plans to reopen the Maltese embassy in Tripoli but only when the Libyan capital would be declared safe.
"We need to be confident that when the Maltese embassy in Tripoli reopens, our staff will be safe. At present the unity government is still operating from a naval base, with only eight ministries that have moved into their proper offices".
"In all probability Malta will be among the first EU countries to open a diplomatic mission in Libya and this will inevitably result in huge pressures on our embassy when it comes to visa applications," he said. "So we need to be well prepared," he reiterated.
Dr Muscat returned to Malta early in the afternoon.