Britain's Blair arrives in Libya at start of 3-nation Africa tour
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair flew in to oil-rich Libya yesterday on the start of a three-nation African tour less than a month before he leaves office.
Blair is expected to meet Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi and seal a major energy deal during the visit, which further highlights Libya's return to the international fold after years as a pariah state.
He last visited the north African country in March 2004, three months after Libya's dramatic decision to renounce ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Tripoli announced ahead of Blair's arrival that it will sign a US$900 million exploration deal with British energy giant BP, which would mark the company's return to Libya after a 33-year absence.
London restored diplomatic ties with Tripoli in July 1999 after a 15-year freeze when Gaddafi agreed to send for trial two former intelligence officers accused of the Lockerbie plane bombing in December 1988.
One was cleared in 2001 by three Scottish judges at a special court in the Netherlands for bombing the Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. The other was jailed for life.
Speaking on his plane before leaving London, Blair said Libya has a vital role to play in fighting the spread of extremism, including al-Qaeda, and said Gaddafi had kept his pledges since returning to the international fold.
"Some of the information they have provided has been extremely valuable in combating terrorism," he said.
Blair's visit comes after a Libyan court last Sunday acquitted five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian medic of charges of slandering policemen by protesting that they had confessed under torture.
The six are also facing the death penalty after court ruled they deliberately injected children with HIV-tainted blood, a case that has strained Libya's ties with West.
Blair is also expected to meet the families of Libyan children suffering from Aids.
During his 2004 visit — the first by a British premier since Libya gained its independence in 1951 — Blair offered a "hand in partnership" to Gaddafi.
Yesterday he said he and Gaddafi are on first name terms.
"I find him very easy to deal with," he told reporters, describing his relationship with Gaddafi as "very good."AFP
Blair is expected to meet Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi and seal a major energy deal during the visit, which further highlights Libya's return to the international fold after years as a pariah state.
He last visited the north African country in March 2004, three months after Libya's dramatic decision to renounce ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Tripoli announced ahead of Blair's arrival that it will sign a US$900 million exploration deal with British energy giant BP, which would mark the company's return to Libya after a 33-year absence.
London restored diplomatic ties with Tripoli in July 1999 after a 15-year freeze when Gaddafi agreed to send for trial two former intelligence officers accused of the Lockerbie plane bombing in December 1988.
One was cleared in 2001 by three Scottish judges at a special court in the Netherlands for bombing the Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. The other was jailed for life.
Speaking on his plane before leaving London, Blair said Libya has a vital role to play in fighting the spread of extremism, including al-Qaeda, and said Gaddafi had kept his pledges since returning to the international fold.
"Some of the information they have provided has been extremely valuable in combating terrorism," he said.
Blair's visit comes after a Libyan court last Sunday acquitted five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian medic of charges of slandering policemen by protesting that they had confessed under torture.
The six are also facing the death penalty after court ruled they deliberately injected children with HIV-tainted blood, a case that has strained Libya's ties with West.
Blair is also expected to meet the families of Libyan children suffering from Aids.
During his 2004 visit — the first by a British premier since Libya gained its independence in 1951 — Blair offered a "hand in partnership" to Gaddafi.
Yesterday he said he and Gaddafi are on first name terms.
"I find him very easy to deal with," he told reporters, describing his relationship with Gaddafi as "very good."AFP
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