Gonzi to attend ‘Friends of Libya’ conference, meet with NTC leader Jibril

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will travel to Paris tonight and attend a ‘Friends of Libya’ conference tomorrow. He will also hold talks with Libya’s interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy who is organising the meeting, said that he had invited countries who see themselves as "friends of Libya" and discuss the future of the country without Col. Gaddafi.

China, Russia, India and Brazil are also expected to be represented during the conference.

"This meeting goes well beyond the contact group," Sarkozy said, referring to the coalition of NATO members and allied Arab states that have led the air campaign or sent cash and arms to help the NTC rebels.

Sarkozy said military action would continue until the last Gaddafi loyalist lays down his weapons, and that France and its allies would stand by the NTC while it tries to create a new democratic Libyan state.

"We have decided in full agreement with British Prime Minister David Cameron to hold a great international conference to help the free Libya of tomorrow, to show that we're passing towards the future," Sarkozy said.

In London, Prime Minister Cameron's office issued a statement saying the conference was a joint Franco-British initiative.

"This will be an opportunity for the NTC to set out how the international community can help them on the path to establishing a free, democratic and inclusive Libya," said Downing Street.

Jibril, the number two figure in the thanked Sarkozy for his "courage" in backing the revolt.

He said tomorrow’s conference, was a symbolic date for Libyans, as it is the anniversary of the day in 1969 when Muammar Gaddafi, then a young army colonel, seized power and launched a four-decade reign of terror.

Now, 42 years later, the strongman and his sons are in hiding and his headquarters has been overrun, but fierce fighting nevertheless still rages between loyalist troops and NTC fighters.

Jibril said he did not know where Gaddafi might be hiding.