Berlusconi arrives in Libya, despite criticism

Aug 30, 2009, 14:44 GMT

Tripoli - Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi arrived in Libya on Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of a friendship pact that ended decades of discord despite calls at home to scrap the visit.

Berlusconi was accompanied by a delegation headed by Lamberto Dini, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Italian Senate, the Libyan news agency JANA reported.

Under a friendship agreement signed in August 2008, the Italian government pledged to invest some 5 billion dollars in Libya over the next 25 years as compensation colonial-era damages.

Bilateral relations between the two countries have long been hobbled by Libyan resentment over the Italian colonial past. Ruled from Rome since 1911, Libya became independent in 1951.

Dubbing the day as 'the day of Libyan-Italian friendship,' the Libyan side took the Italian delegation to inaugurate a photo exhibition which shows 70 photographs that reflect the Libyan resistance to the Italian occupation, according to JANA.

'The fact that Libya does not want to forget this past is understandable,' JANA quoted Dini as saying.

However, Dini expressed his faith that the 'strong relations between Libya and Italy will reflect in a better future not only on the economic level but in social and cultural fields as well,' according to JANA.

Berlusconi went ahead with his trip to Libya despite international protests, particularly from the US and Britain, over the hero's welcome Tripoli staged for the freed Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.

He, meanwhile, will not attend events marking the 40th anniversary of the military coup d'etat that brought Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi to power in 1969, BBC reported.

The friendship agreement also contains a controversial pledge by Libya to help curb illegal immigration to Italy by ensuring that its shores are not used as a departure point for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean.

   Human rights groups have denounced the conditions under which would-be migrants, mostly from other African nations, are kept in Libya.

Meanwhile both countries are reaping trade benefits. Italy is one of Libya's main trade partners and Libya is the biggest provider of crude oil to Italy.

The north African country has expressed interest in expanding its investment in major Italian companies, including some that are suffering from the current global economic slump. Libya currently has a stake in Italy's second largest bank Unicredit and car giant Fiat.