Noel Grima

US President George W. Bush officially revoked the commercial embargo imposed on Libya last week and the EU removed the economic sanctions imposed years back.

But Maltese businessmen are still finding it very difficult, almost impossible, to obtain quick visas to visit Tripoli on business. Sources have told this paper that it was even quite difficult to find a suitable date for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s visit to Tripoli, which is now scheduled for the coming week.

Ever since a visa was required for Maltese wanting to visit Libya (and vice-versa), Maltese businessmen have experienced heavy delays, where before they used to go to Libya at one or two days’ notice. Despite repeated promises that the issue would be tackled and the issuing of visas speeded up, nothing seems to have changed.

This has made Maltese businessmen find alternate routes in their eagerness to get a visa quickly. But some, or many, are giving up doing business with Libya, which is a lucrative market for Maltese businessmen.

Some Maltese businessmen are finding that contacting Maltese high profile persons known for their close connections with Libya can sometimes produce a visa in double quick time. Others have found that if they travel via Dubai to Libya they can obtain a visa much quicker that way.

When a Labour Party delegation visited Libya recently, MP Leo Brincat told this paper, it tackled this issue in its meetings with the Foreign Relations Secretariat of the People’s Congress and was told the delays were due to the bureaucratic workings of the Ministry of the Interior and promised change. None seems to have materialised.

The situation has been rendered worse by a distinct cooling off in diplomatic relations at top levels.

Malta’s ambassador in Tripoli, Richard Vella Laurenti, is due to be changed. His successor, nominated by the Foreign Ministry under John Dalli, was veteran diplomat and former ambassador to the US, George Saliba, and the Libyan government was duly informed. However, after the change in minister, a new ambassador was named, Dr Joe Cassar, former ambassador to Russia. Sources said this sudden and inexplicable change did not go down well with the Libyan authorities.

Writing in l-orizzont last Monday Mr Brincat commented in passing about a further incident which, it seems, refers to Libya. He spoke of a Maltese diplomatic official who has been refused diplomatic status in one country and who has now be recalled to Malta.

On their part, the Libyans too are changing their ambassador. The Libyan representation is headed at present by a Charge d’Affairs and no ambassador has been appointed yet. Sources in the foreign relations sector are worried that there could be a delay (some speak of a six-month delay) before Libya appoints its new ambassador while others say the Charge d’Affairs will be appointed ambassador soon.

There seem to be problems, too, regarding the existing Libyan investment in Malta. Most of this investment is grouped in the Maltese Libyan Holding Company but minister Austin Gatt said in Parliament some months ago that the role of this holding company must be “redefined”. While it is still not clear what this means, there has not been any substantial Libyan private investment coming to Malta.

With the US and EU markets opening up to Libya, Libyan investors may be attracted to invest all over the world, whereas in embargo time, Malta offered significant advantages, now gone.

It seems that most of the contacts being made with Libyan investors by multinational companies are negotiated through Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Saad Gaddafi, the founder of the Islam Foundation and it does not seem that any Maltese have contacts in this direction.

One further possible reason for this cooling off in Maltese-Libyan relations could be the fact that Malta in recent years, under both administrations, no longer buys its oil from Libya but on the open market.

In the end, what Malta is getting from Libya are the asylum seekers, which is one primary reason for Dr Gonzi’s visit to Tripoli. He may however find that while Malta is proportionately being hit worse by the asylum seekers who come here, Malta does not have the clout that Italy, for instance, has when it comes to persuading the Libyans to patrol their seas better.