Nuclear agency to visit Libya next week to look at activities

The director general of the International Agency For Atomic Energy announced he will head for Libya next week to evaluate the Libyan nuclear weapons program.

In statements in Vienna, al-Baradi said that the visit represents the beginning of the inspecting operation of the Libyan armament programs, stressing that UN inspection of the Libyan institutions will start immediately next week. He said he will inform the council of the agency's trustees what he described as nuclear secret activities in Libya, stressing that Libya admitted it has a program for nuclear technology related activities.

He said "We shall define the corrective actions that need to be taken and consult on the necessary steps to eliminate any weapons-related activities,"

On the other hand, the secretary of the Libyan committee for foreign contacts Abdul Rahman Shalqam said that starting inspection in the Libyan nuclear institutions will not last long, and that the two sides are in need to discuss only technical measures.

Earlier, the secretary general of the general people's committee Shukri Ghanem said that his country is ready to sign the additional protocol of the NPT (nuclear nonproliferation treaty), which permits sudden inspections to its institutions. This, however, comes one day after Libya had informed the UN its readiness to open up its institutions before sudden inspection operations, in an agreement that exceed the basic requirements of the NPT, after Libya had decided to give up its armament programs.