Maltese businessmen behind diplomatic mission to Benghazi

A number of businessmen are reportedly already accompanying ambassador Victor Camilleri who flew to Benghazi last Thursday as a special envoy of the Maltese government to hold talks with Jalil and the interim Prime Minister Ahmed Jibril.

Victor Camilleri is a well respected career diplomat, and his mission to Benghazi received the backing of the Labour Party.

The decision by Malta to recognise the Transitional Council as the interlocutor for the Libyan people, followed a meeting held at Castille last week between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the Council’s special emissary, Abdel Rahman Shalgham.

Shalgham, who was Libya’s foreign minister between 2000 and 2009, defected to the rebel side from his posting as Gaddafi’s ambassador to the United Nations, and was later appointed as the transitional council’s special envoy to the UN and the EU.

The two sides discussed the ongoing crisis in Libya and the way forward, and recognition of the council was brokered after the council’s emissary brought with him the proposal for closer relations through recognition.

No discussions were made regarding the long-standing pending issue on oil exploration in the Mediterranean between Malta and Libya.

Although the Maltese government is keen to resolve the issue with Libya, now that relations with post-Ben Ali Tunisia are moving steadfast and a mixed commission from Tunis is expected in Malta in two weeks time, headed by the new foreign minister.

“We felt that if we had to raise the oil issues with the transitional council at this point in time, we ran the risk of being perceived as egoistic,” one senior diplomat told MaltaToday.

But while contacts in Benghazi are in full swing, the government has decided to keep the Maltese embassy in Tripoli open, in a bid to ensure any consulate to be speedily resolved, especially for Maltese businesses still operating there.

Recognising the TNC is being considered as a very important step for Malta. “It establishes a rightful dialogue with the government-in-waiting,” foreign minister Tonio Borg told a foreign affairs parliamentary committee meeting last Thursday.

Labour shadow minister George Vella expressed the Opposition’s satisfaction and agreement with the handling of the situation by government. “We have no objection at setting up a rapport with the Libyan rebels,” he said.

The committee accepted in principle a suggestion by Labour MP Leo Brincat to invite Victor Camilleri, to brief the committee both about his Libyan visit as well as about his coordinating role in connection with the 5+5 June Summit in Malta that has been postponed due to uncertainties in the region.

 Camilleri is known to have visited all member states of the grouping during the past weeks.

An impending visit by the Tunisian foreign minister on the mixed joint commission offers clues as to the need for Malta to resume talks with Libya over pending oil exploration matters, expert sources have told this newspaper.

Earlier in the week,  Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi spoke to Dr Mahmoud Jibril, chairman of the executive board of the National Transitional Council of Libya. The Cabinet decided on Monday that Malta considers National Council as the sole legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people.

“Dr Jibril described this decision as a very important step forward which the Libyan people will never forget. He added that while he hoped that the Maltese government will eventually decide to go for full recognition, this was a development that was very much appreciated,” the government said. 

Abdel Rahman Shalgam, Libya’s defected ambassador to the United Nations and today a senior representative of the Benghazi-based Transitional Council held meetings with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille on May 25.

It was the first time since the beginning of the uprising in Libya, that the Maltese government officially be engaged in talks with the Transitional Council.

Last March, Libya’s rebel council had made formal contact with the Maltese government through a note verbale sent via a representative within the Arab League, committing itself to “honour and respect all international and regional agreements signed by the former Libyan government.”