Malta and Libya in security talks

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Libya, Dr Abdul Razak Al-Grady was the special guest of the Maltese Chairmanship during the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) plenary meeting, whereby the illicit trafficking of armaments in the Mediterranean region was discussed.

In his statement, Al-Grady thanked Malta for offering Libya the opportunity to raise the security challenges which the country is facing while appealing on the OSCE (Organisation for security and co-operation in Europe) and the international community to further assist Libya in addressing the phenomena of illicit trafficking of armaments.

The minister spoke in detail about the proliferation initiatives which Libya successfully undertook, in particular to destroy its chemical weapons in line with the obligations set under the Chemical Weapons Convention. He recognised that the OSCE has the right experience and can certainly equip Libya with the right support in terms of problems related to weapons proliferation and in better managing armed forces.

In reply to his statement, most of the participant states welcomed the initiative of Malta to invite Libya for the security dialogue in the FSC and reiterated their support towards the application of Libya to be granted the status of Mediterranean Partner for Cooperation. 

The chairman-in-office of the FSC, Ambassador Keith Azzopardi reiterated Malta's commitment towards assisting Libya in fulfilling the aspirations of the Libyan people in achieving the rule of law and democracy and spoke about the added value which the OSCE can bring to Libya in addressing its security challenges if the country would join the family of Partners for Cooperation.