Prime Minister, four ministers in Libya for bilateral meetings

After spending Saturday in Bulgaria's capital Sofia addressing a meeting of the Party of European Socialists Capitalists, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today is in Tripoli meeting his Libyan counterpart, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

Muscat was also welcomed by Ali Faraj Alrabti, the Libyan pilot who defected to Malta during the Libyan uprising in order not to carry out orders to bomb civilians.

The Maltese delegation includes foreign affairs minister George Vella, home affairs minister Manuel Mallia, energy minister Konrad Mizzi and tourism minister Karmenu Vella and the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri.

The Libyan delegation includes foreign affairs minister Mohamed Abdelaziz, minister of interior Colonel Mohamed al-Sheikh, Abdulbari Arousi, minister for oil and gas and under-secretary of tourism Abdulsamea Mahboob.

A 40-minute meeting is planned for both delegations before the respective ministers and counterparts hold separate meetings in private.

The talks are being held at the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, just outside Medina.

In an interview with the Libya Herald carried out a month after his election, Muscat had promised to be in Libya before the end of June - a promise which he has managed to fulfil.

During today's talks, the Prime Minister is expected to bring up the issue of the demarcation of the territorial waters between Malta and Libya and the issue of visas - something which he referred to in the interview.

During the public consultation meetings organised by the Office of the Prime Minister in the past days, the government promised an overhaul of the system to facilitate the issuance of visas.

Muscat told the Libya Herald that his government hoped to enjoy a fresh start on the demarcation line which affects potential oil exploration by Malta.

"The position from the Maltese side remains the same. We hope that, with the advent of a new government in Tripoli, we can have a fresh look at the issue. I look forward to a situation where the Libyan and Maltese sides can sit down together and work out a common-sense deal. But having said that, we will not make this a precondition to anything," Muscat told the Libyan paper.

The Prime Minister conceded that a matter of urgency was the smuggling of diesel from Libya to Malta. He had described the illegality as a loss in revenue for Malta and the government could never condone it.

"We think that there should be full implementation of regulations and rules and laws in order to make sure that only legitimate routes are taken in the purchase of diesel and petrol from any other country. So we welcome a clamping down from the Libyan side," Muscat said.