European-Arab contacts to reactivate five-plus-five dialogue

Arab diplomatic sources said there are current contacts between the Mediterranean capitals, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, and Valletta to reactivate the "five-plus-five" dialogue, which was suspended in 1991 after it was decided to be raised up during the summit for leaders of ten countries located on the western basin of the Mediterranean at the beginning of 1992, in Tunis.

Moreover, the sources said the normalization of Libyan - French relations has recently helped forward a basic measure that allowed the countries concerned to return to the idea of activating the previous framework for regional dialogue as the European countries other than France have no objections to Libya's participation in the dialogue. Some of them -- especially Malta and Italy -- showed enthusiasm to facilitate Libya's return to the international arena after the suspension by the United Nations of the sanctions imposed it in 1992.

The five-plus-five dialogue was opened in a meeting on the level of foreign minister hosted by Italy in 1990 between the Arab Maghreb Union (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Mauritania), as well as Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Malta. The three ministers held meetings in 1990 - 1991 in Rome, Algeria and Brussels before the European Union decided to suspend the dialogue.