The Maltese Embassy in Tripoli should be supplemented with an effective trade and investment office, the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said.

It praised the timely reopening of the embassy and in a letter to the Prime Minister said it believed such a positive development represented a significant milestone for continued strong diplomatic and business relations between Malta and Libya.

“This development is also significant for business from a practical point of view in terms of facilitating visa arrangements, which are crucial for the conduct of business and investment,” it said.

The chamber is also calling for the resumption of Air Malta flights to Tripoli as soon as it was safe enough to do so. Furthermore, it recommended the organisation of a high level political and business delegation to visit the Libyan capital at the earliest possible opportunity.

Meanwhile, the Libyan-Maltese Chamber of Commerce called for Malta’s humanitarian efforts in Libya to be augmented with structured commercial plans so that Maltese businessmen could receive the necessary support to re-establish themselves in the market ahead of other, larger countries.