Libya, Italy to examine 'Friendship Treaty'

2011-12-14

Libya and Italy will hold new talks about their 2008 Friendship, Partnership and Co-Operation Treaty, AFP reported on Tuesday (December 13th). National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil will meet with Italian authorities in Rome on Thursday to discuss details of the treaty, signed in Benghazi by Moamer Kadhafi and former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi.

Before the Libya-Italy accord was suspended last February with the start of the uprising, Italy had been a close ally and economic partner. More than 180 Italian businesses have taken advantage of the favorable terms for trade links, including Finmeccanica, Impreglio and ENI, which became the biggest foreign energy producer in Libya.

The 2008 Italy-Libya Friendship Treaty includes construction of a 1,700-kilometre coastal motorway in Libya. The deal also allows Italy to send back immigrants reaching its shores from Libya.

In related news, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi and United Nations Envoy to Libya Ian Martin met in Cairo on Tuesday (December 13th), KUNA reported. The talks reportedly focused on opportunities for the two organizations to promote Libyan peace and prosperity.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/12/14/newsbrief-03.