Paris, 13 February 2013:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has told French President Francois Hollande that Libya is able to protect its borders but needs technical cooperation.
Zeidan met with the French President today, Wednesday, a day after the Ministerial Conference on Libya held in Paris. Involving Libya’s closest allies since the revolution as well as international organisations inlcuding the UN, the EU the African Union and the Arab Maghreb Union, it focused heavily on security in Libya.
The Prime Minister, as well as several Libyan ministers including the Ministers of Health and of Telecommunication, also attended a Libyan-French economic conference in Paris today.
“We talked about various issues connected to our relations — political, economic and security and many other issues”, Zeidan said after meeting President Hollande. “We talked especially about security, because there was a conference held yesterday on security support for Libya attended by most of the partner countries that supported us in the 17 February Revolution.”
Zeidan also stated that Libya’s partners were working with it to restore the rule of law in Libya. But there was absolutely no requirement for foreign forces in the country, he said in reply to a question from a journalist. Libya could defend its own borders. But “what we need is technical cooperation”.
Further meetings with the French government on economic, political and security cooperation were signalled by Zeidan. The two countries had agreed to “enrich and develop relations” he said, if not on this visit “then on subsequent ones”.
Accompanying the Prime Minister in Paris were the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mohamed Abdulaziz, and Defense Minister Mohamed Barghathi, both of whom attended Tuesday’s Ministerial Conference as well as Health Minister Nuridin Dagman, Communications Minister Osama Siala, Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak and Deputy Transport Minister Farid Ghiblawi who is in charge of Maritime Affairs and Ports.
The economic conference, which drew over 100 major French companies was organised by the Medef International, the international arm of the French business confederation, and the Franco-Libyan Chamber of Commerce. [/restrict]
