Malta expects a lot from a return to stability in neighbouring Libya. It is not alone. France, the UK and Italy are close to showing indecency in their haste to position themselves for a share of the spoils they hope will become available once the guns give way to old and new oil equipment, machines and hotels, construction and reequipping in general.

At our end, we have to watch carefully whether and if so to what extent there will be security risks within Libya- Lino Spiteri

That may take some time. The shooting in parts of Libya is not yet over. Remnants of the Gaddafi regime are as slippery as eels. Moving into the near future what is now the effective transitional government is itself showing apprehension that Malta might be used for anti new regime activities.

At our end we have to watch carefully whether and if so to what extent there will be security risks within Libya. It is natural for the new administrators to call for a fresh inward movement of expatriate labour. They will be doing their best to make them feel secure. But nothing can be taken for granted.

Before those days arrive and the rebuilding starts in earnest, the new rulers have to meet their prioritised objectives. These are essentially of a humanitarian nature. Water and power supplies resumed, to be channelled to those who have been stoically doing without them, bearing the hardship as the price of getting rid of the regime they have come to hate. Food, vegetables and fruit supplies have to be secured. Medicines and other essential necessities have to be sourced.

The early weeks will see concentration on these priorities. The effort itself will create opportunities for foreign suppliers, and they will not hesitate to make the best of them. That will include Maltese traders who never fail to identify how to profitably exploit a situation.

It may seem heartless to write in such terms in the context of what is and will remain for some time a grave humanitarian situation.

But the situation cannot and will not be resolved without the new and transitional Libyan rulers buying much of their people’s requirements.

That is a reality point not lost upon those countries who, particularly under the aegis of the United Nations, have been taking steps to unblock Libyan assets held abroad and rapidly frozen after the start of the uprising in February.

Part of the unblocked assets will be used to pay wages to Libyan workers. Parts will be used to purchase supplies. Anyone who tries to paint a different picture, or raises eyebrows at the prospect of honest profits being made from the situation will be merely ignoring reality, or, worse, striking hypocritical stances.

The more lasting opportunities will be of a longer term nature. I am sure that the Corinthia Group, as it confirmed to the media, will be doing its utmost to gear its assets in Libya, mostly a major hotel and Palm City, to resume normal operations. Yet there can be no doubt that the fuller stream of returns will flow when Libya starts ticking away regularly.

The short, medium and longer term will merge into each other but will require different strategies at each stage. The private sector will be examining such strategies to see what it can do on its own, and what necessitates partnerships with expatriate deployers of much bigger resources, and perhaps in particular with emerging Libyan people of commerce. They will be different from the coterie fed and fattened by the way the Gaddafi regime channelled business opportunities to its cronies.

At the government level, efforts will continue to be on the right side of the government. Good relations have been established with the transitional government.

However, that is the short term. In due course the structures of a liberal economy will start being built up, accompanied by the unfamiliar structures of democracy. Political groupings will spring up.

Governments which will follow the transitional administration will include new people, many of whom are not presently in the frame. The Maltese government will have to build ongoing relations with them with a cold eye following internal developments. Bilateral relations, as we know from the case of Gaddafi Libya itself, always have to take into account prevailing historical circumstances. Such circumstances will not unfold smoothly, so nor will bilateral relations.

That is why one has to take with a pinch of salt the early signal by the transitional government that they will be amenable to joint oil exploration with Malta.

That might be a way out from the stalemate which has prevailed for ages over claims to the possibly overlapping territorial waters of Malta, Libya, Tunisia, and Italy too.

Still, that particular drum should not be beaten too early or too loudly. Serious and lasting deals are never concluded on the political rebound. What has been lightly discussed so far may not be in the best interest of Malta.

Nor can it be assumed that the transitional Libyan leaders who discussed this will be there to conclude it. On their part, they are grateful for Malta’s political and humanitarian role over the past six months. That does not mean they can or will readily take binding decisions.

Meanwhile, detailed comments made to this newspaper by geologist Peter Gatt (September 5) should be well digested by the authorities. Among other things Mr Gatt questioned the wisdom of inviting oil companies to apply for oil exploration licences when the territorial issues are still outstanding.

What he had to say, also in the Libya-Malta context, made a lot of sense and merits deep consideration.