By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli, 13 December:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan arrived in Sudan today where he met President Omer Al-Bashir and First Vice . . .[restrict]President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha.
Accompanying Zeidan is the minister of international cooperation and acting foreign minister, Abdel Aziz, army chief of staff Major General Yousef Mangoush and intelligence chief Salem Hassi.
In their meeting Zeidan and Bashir discussed cooperation between the two countries and ways of further enhancing them.
The visit was part of a tour of some of Libya’s African neighbours, and came after Zeidan met Chadian President Idriss Deby in Ndjamena.
The pair talked about mending relations poisoned by Qaddafi’s disastrous 1978-1987 Chad war.
Previously Zeidan and his delegation were in Niger’s capital Niamey to call on the country to hand over Saadi Qaddafi, who was given sanctuary there a year ago after fleeing the country.
He had flown there from Algiers, where he had spent two days in discussions with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other officials.
Zeidan said in a statement quoted by Algerian state radio after his talks with Bouteflika that Algeria and Libya had agreed on a number of initiatives on security cooperation. They would begin to be put into effect in January.
The talks between the two leaders were believed to have included the status of the Qaddafi family living in Algeria since August 2011 – Qaddafi’s widow Safia, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammed and Hanibal – although there was no public reference to this by either of the two men.
The Prime Minister is expected to arrive back at Tripoli’s Miteiga airbase tomorrow afternoon. [/restrict]
