Malta will be hosting the 26th Libya-Malta Joint Commission meeting this week. During a Mixed Commission meeting, high officials from both governments discuss various topics of importance to the two countries. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Tonio Borg will head the Maltese team.
[independent.com] Various topics will be discussed this week, among which search and rescue, visa matters, and co-operation in vocational training, including aviation courses and tourism studies. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that co-operation in the fields of culture and the audio-visual industry will be discussed. The issues of prevention of marine pollution, exchange of information, excise matters, fishing, organised crime and aviation security will also be part of the agenda.
The two countries maintain close and friendly relations since 1965. Periodic reviews, at ministerial level, characterise the longstanding relationship between Malta and Libya. In addition, Malta and Libya annually hold Joint Commission meetings. The last session of the Malta-Libya Joint Commission was held in Malta between 28 and 29 October, 2008.
The Joint Commission covered a number of areas, including economic policies, trade and investment, police and security matters, agriculture and fisheries cooperation, as well as cultural heritage and education. Further to the agreed minutes, as by way of a follow-up, the working group regarding cooperation in higher education, organised crime and security and illegal migration, communications and consular issues have already taken place, as did discussions in certain fields, including search and rescue, and sale in package holidays.
2009 marked the 40th Anniversary from the Al Fatah Revolution, commemorating the Libyan leader’s coming to power, and on this occasion, President George Abela, accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, travelled to Libya following an invitation to attend the celebrations issued by the Leader of the Revolution Col. Gaddafi.
During the course of these last three years, there has been a continuum of contacts between the two countries on the ministerial, official and technical level, dealing with a myriad of issues and aspects of mutual interest and concern. On the regional level, the issues that have most attracted focus for bilateral talks within the ongoing efforts by the EU to open a channel of contacts with Libya have centred around the prevention of human trafficking and illegal migration, the re-admission of illegal immigrants, and mobility facilitation for Libyan and Maltese nationals within the parameters of Schengen.
Fruitful discussion at expert level characterised the last two years and the first half of 2009. Technical working groups on financial and fiscal cooperation, visa facilitation, security and illegal migration, as well as search and rescue highlight the increasingly engaging relationship between the two.
Furthermore, following the appointment of Dr Borg as foreign minister of Malta, a working visit to Libya took place on 22 and 23 April, 2008. Dr Borg held talks with the Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman Shalgam, with Eng. Ebarak Abdalla El Shamekh, Assistant Secretary of the General People’s Congress at the Office of the Prime Minister, Moussa Koussa, Head of External Security Authority, Mostafa Mohamed Abdel Jaleel, Secretary of the GPC for Justice, and Suleiman Shahoumi, Secretary of the General People’s Congress for Foreign Affairs. All meetings were conducted on a very friendly and cordial basis and centred on oil exploration, immigration, the proposed Union for the Mediterranean and the granting of visas among other issues.
Source: http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=100314
