An agreement signed between Libyan Foreign Minister Mousa Kousa and his Swiss counterpart, Micheline Calmy-Rey, yesterday marked the end of a dispute between the two countries which began in July 2008 with the arrest of the Libyan leader’s son in Switzerland.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who attended a meeting held shortly after the agreement was signed, said this intended to show appreciation to Malta for its efforts in resolving the dispute and the proposal by Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg.

The agreement signified that all pending issues between the two countries had been resolved, he said, and the invite extended for this meeting intended to show appreciation to countries which somehow helped in resolving the Libya-Switzerland dispute.

Max Goldi, the Swiss businessman who together with Rachid Hamdani was arrested for supposed visa irregularities, was meant to have set off on his way home yesterday, accompanied by the Spanish and Swiss Foreign Ministers, according to sources at the meeting.

Mr Goldi was serving a four-month sentence in Libya after being jailed in February, when he was released from jail in Tripoli a few days ago. He was waiting for arrangements for an exit visa to be sorted out, so that he could return home.

The two-year dispute started with the arrest of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Hannibal Gaddafi, and his daughter-in-law in Switzerland, for allegedly beating two of their servants.

Despite the fact that both were released after two days, Col Gaddafi retaliated in a number of ways; including shutting down local subsidiaries of Swiss companies, arresting two Swiss businessmen for supposed visa irregularities and withdrawing $5 billion from his Swiss bank accounts.

Things became more serious when in February 2010 Libya decided that Schengen citizens would not be allowed entry into the country. This came following Switzerland’s blacklisting of over 180 high ranking Libyan officials by adding them to the Schengen Area visa blacklist.

Libya lifted the ban once Switzerland agreed to remove the blacklist and things were normalised once again.

Dr Gonzi, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, was present for a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor, and the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Spain and Switzerland.

The meeting, which was called by Col Gaddafi and took place at his official residence in Tripoli, was cordial, positive and one could almost say jovial, Dr Gonzi said.

A lot of work had been done by the Spanish Presidency to resolve the issue, Dr Gonzi said, with the help of Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

During the meeting, which touched upon a number of points, he said, Malta had put forward an offer to host the next 5+5 meeting, which would bring together the heads of state of five EU Member States and those of five Mediterranean countries.

The last 5+5 meeting was held some eight years ago, he said, and Malta felt it was time for another meeting, particularly in view of the progress that had been seen. It was clear that Malta’s bid was being supported as Prime Minister Berlusconi, Prime Minister Pahor and Mr Moratinos were in favour.

Once it is confirmed that the meeting will be held in Malta, a date and theme will be settled upon, and preparations can begin in earnest. It is expected to be held sometime in the first six months of next year.

The meeting also mentioned the issue of illegal immigration, which was something that all countries had to work together on, Dr Gonzi said. He expressed his hopes that in the coming weeks a high-level bilateral meeting will be held with Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi.

Dr Gonzi said that now that the issue was resolved, a framework agreement was being discussed, to discuss various points on which relations between the EU and Libya could move forward. Malta fully supported this agreement, he said.

Malta has a treaty of friendship and cooperation with Libya, Dr Gonzi said, which was signed a long time ago. This means that it is time for this to be updated, and in fact there are working groups looking at ways in which this can be brought up to date and it will hopefully be finalised soon.

Dr Gonzi said Col Gaddafi has an open invitation to Malta and is expected to pay a visit sometime in the future. He attended a dinner later on yesterday evening, on Col Gaddafi’s invitation, during which the two had the chance to discuss a number of issues of bilateral interest further.