Malta and Libya’s prime ministers agreed to tackle illegal smuggling and facilitate business during a meeting in Valletta on Friday.  

Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah visited Malta for talks with Prime Minister Robert Abela.

The Libyan leader arrived on Thursday evening and met Abela at the Auberge de Castille on Friday morning.

In a press statement on Friday afternoon, the two leaders said they had agreed to cooperate further on facilitating business opportunities between the two countries.  Journalists were not permitted to ask questions during the statement. 

Photo: DOI, Omar Camilleri.

Malta and Libya's 'special relationship'

Prime Minister Abela said he was satisfied that Malta was among the first Dbeibah had visited since forming a new Libyan government.  

Malta has always had “a special relationship with Libya”, he said.

Over the years the two countries have cooperated in the health and energy sectors, and have been working hand-in-hand on the issues of border control, migration, and organised crime.  

“I can say here that I am committed to strengthening this cooperation even further in coming months,” Abela said.  

At the forefront of this commitment is the facilitation of  commerce. Abela said Malta has always considered Libya a business partner and Abela said he has been passing this message along in the Brussels corridors of European power.  

Joint committees to discuss air travel, foreign investment 

Meanwhile, Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah also spoke highly of the bi-lateral relationship between Libya and Malta, “not just because of geographic proximity but a shared history”.  

To protect Libyan and Maltese interests, the two countries plan to cooperate in matters of national and regional security, Dbeibah said.  

Photo: DOI, Clodagh O'Neill.

He said the two had held a lengthy meeting and agreed upon common bilateral investments and the setting up of joint committees to facilitate air travel to Libyan airports and possible foreign direct investment.  

Ministers of justice, home affairs and defence from the two countries had held parallel meetings and agreed to work to resolve major issues effecting the two, particularly when it comes to smuggling.  

Giving a brief glimpse of what this cooperation could look like, Dbiebah said Malta and Libya had agreed to rely on a capacity building centre in Malta to train Libyan experts and officials. 

On Friday morning the red carpet was rolled out for the Libyan delegation's arrival with the armed forces brass band playing the two countries' national anthems.

The two leaders last met in Tripoli in April. The Libyan PM was accompanied by the ministers for health, transport and finance. 

In a private meeting in the Auberge de Castille Abela was accompanied by his deputy Chris Fearne, who is also Health Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri.