Foreign Affairs Minister reiterates support for Libya

The minister for foreign affairs, George Vella, was this afternoon present for the second international conference on Libya. The conference, which was held in Rome - and gathered representatives from no less than 45 countries - is one of several scheduled conferences to discuss the situation in Libya.

Primarily, the scope of the meetings is to analyse what contributions each country can provide in order to strengthen the North African country's security and its institutions. During this afternoon's meeting, more stringent security measures were discussed, as well as the reinforcement of Libya's civil and military forces.

In his address, Vella reiterated the Maltese government's support for Libya, stressing that such meetings should not simply serve as a point of communication but that the discussions should yield concrete projects.

The minister said that it was imperative that the international community kept up its solid relations with Libya, both on a political level as well as with its people. Vella also outlined the need to safeguard Libya's borders to prevent illegal acts from occurring, such as the trafficking of drugs and arms and irregular immigration.

Vella said that the Maltese government was committed to providing Libya with assistance in terms of its defence and judiciary sectors - apart from the assistance, he said, that the Armed Forces of Malta was providing to its North African neighbours through its maritime frontiers.