The Libyan Foreign Affairs Secretary, on a whirlwind tour of Maltese dignitaries yesterday, will take back with him an invitation for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to visit Malta.

In a meeting with his Libyan counterpart Suliman al-Shahoumi, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said he was "looking forward to a visit by the leader of the revolution to Malta".

The last time Col. Gaddafi travelled to Malta was 25 years ago and visits slated for 2005 and last year never materialised.

During the meeting, for which journalists were asked to leave after five minutes, Dr Borg said President George Abela would be visiting Libya for the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Al-Fateh revolution.

On September 1, Libya marks 40 years since Col. Gaddafi led a coup that brought him to power.

Dr Borg thanked Mr al-Shahoumi for Libya's efforts to curb illegal migration, which resulted in a sharp decline in arrivals over the past few months.

He said progress had also been registered on pending issues between Malta and Libya regarding the issuance of travel visas, fisheries and double taxation.

Mr al-Shahoumi said Libya understood that immigration posed a difficult problem for Malta.

It is unclear though whether the foreign ministers discussed immigration in greater detail behind closed doors and whether they touched upon the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi.

In the afternoon, Mr al-Shahoumi met Speaker Louis Galea, Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat and the chairman of the foreign and European affairs parliamentary committee Michael Frendo.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com