By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli, 6 December:
Maltese premier Lawrence Gonzi is due in Tripoli tomorrow, Friday, to meet with Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. . . .[restrict]He will be accompanied on the five-hour visit by an as yet unnamed delegation of Maltese ministers. They will have separate talks with their Libyan counterparts.
No details as to the nature of any the discussions have been given by Zidan’s office or by Malta’s Department of Information which announced the visit. However, it is known that Malta is particularly keen to intensify business tied and develop training programmes with Libya.
In September, the Libyan Labour Ministry signed a MOU with Malta’s Ministry of Education and Employment provide technical and vocational training for Libyans. English-language training and the development of Libya’s tourism potential are two others area the Maltese are keen to become involved in.
For their part the Libyan authorities are known to be keen to want to hotel and tourist infrastructure skills with Maltese help.
According to sources in Malta, plans by the Maltese hotel group Corinthia to move forward on their Grand Hotel project in Benghazi are expected to figure in tomorrow’s talks.
One other subject expected to be discussed is Malta’s request to open a consultate in Misrata.
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