Libya and Malta confer ahead of Paris summit

By Hadi Fornaji.

Tripoli 10 February 2013:

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mohamed Abdulaziz and his Maltese counterpart, Francis Zammit Dimech, held talks in Tripoli today, Sunday, on security issues in Libya ahead of the Paris ministerial summit on Libya on Tuesday. Attended by both men as well as the foreign ministers of the UK, France, the US, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, the UAE and Qatar as well as senior Libyan officials and representatives from the UN and EU, the summit will focus strongly on Libya’s security needs.

In their talks today, the two ministers also looked at political coordination at regional level, between European Union and the Arab Maghreb Union.

At local level, the two discussed at ways to expand economic ties. In relation to this, they gave the nod to plans to open a Maltese consulate in Misrata although further preparations are required. Maltese companies have been increasingly focused on doing business in the city.

The two also looked to expand education links, in particular the provision of English-language courses for Libyans at Maltese colleges.