By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli, 21 June 2103:
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is due on Sunday in Tripoli for talks with Ali Zeidan . . .[restrict]on further developing political and economic relations between the two Mediterranean neighbours.
Interviewed by the Libya Herald in April when he stated he would visit Libya before the end of June, Muscat stressed that he is looking to a new partnership of equals with Libya in which the two countries work as friends, helping each other. One area he suggested that Malta could help was in capacity-building in Libya, notably in education and healthcare.
Subjects for discussion on Sunday are also expected to include visas and the demarcation of the seabed between the two countries for oil exploration.
Another issue is gas. Malta’s main power station is currently fuelled by oil. There has to be a switch to gas in line with European Union demands and Malta is looking for nearby supplies.
Muscat will be accompanied by a number of ministers including Foreign Minister George Vella, Home (Interior) and National Security Minister Emanuel Mallia and Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella. They will meet with their Libyan counterparts.
Tourism is seen as a major area of collaboration, with Libya looking to the Maltese to provide training, particularly in the hotel industry.
Muscat will arrive in the morning and leave in the afternoon. He is off the next day to Rome to meet with the Pope. [/restrict]
