Libyan- Italian talks on fighting illegal immigration; Shalqam: not at the expense of our sovereignty
Libya-Italy, Politics, 6/30/2003

Italy announced yesterday it had concluded an agreement with Libya on bilateral cooperation to fight illegal immigration to Europe.

The Italian minister of the interior said that an agreement will be signed next Wednesday in Tripoli, noting in conclusion of his meeting with his Libyan counterpart in Sardinia that the agreement states to organize joint patrols for the police.

However, The secretary of the Libyan people's general committee for foreign contacts and international cooperation, Abdul Rahman Shalqam, renewed his assertion yesterday that his country will not permit patrols for Italian police in the Libyan territories, stressing simultaneously, Tripoli's desire to cooperate with the European Union to fighting illegal immigration "but not at the expense of the Libyan sovereignty." Shalqam said that the question of the police patrol "is not permitted, not accepted or negotiable."

The Libyan minister said that all Mediterranean countries should meet to find out a solution for the illegal immigration issue, considering that Libya is also a victim to illegal immigration.

For his part, the Italian minister who drew the final touches for the Italian- Libyan cooperation agreement with the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday "this cooperation between police in the two countries will be conducted under precise honoring of Libya's sovereignty." He added that "all measures will adapt with the embargo imposed on Libya since 1988 since the Lockerbie incident." He vowed that Rome will seek to lift the embargo in order to permit Tripoli to buy necessary equipment to fight illegal immigration.

Recently, the Italian government showed readiness to provide Libya with high speed boats, but the majority of the EU member states insisted on the weapons embargo imposed on Libya.

A spokesman for the European Union announced yesterday that the Libyan leader vowed in a telephone call with the EU commissioner Romano Prodi to intensify cooperation with the European Union to halt illegal immigration from North Africa.

Al-Qathafi agreed with Prodi's proposal that the success in this campaign will not be made without signing cooperation agreements between the countries of the region and the European Union.

Previous Stories:
  La Stampa: Libya denies an agreement to deploy Italian soldiers   (6/28/2003)
  Libyan, Italian agreement on fighting illegal immigrants   (6/26/2003)
  Libyan- Italian talks on the Iraqi war   (4/3/2003)

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