Italy-Libya: Berlusconi-Jibril meeting – the two governments form a Committee of Accord – the two governments form a Committee of Accord
ROME, Italy, August 26, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Minister for Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini will lead the Italian delegation to the committee outlined today in a meeting in Milan between Premier Berlusconi and Prime Minister of the Libyan National Transitional Council Mahmoud Jibril. “We decided”, Berlusconi explained, “to form a committee of accord between our two governments so as to intervene with extreme ease in decision-making situations. The leader of our part of the committee will be Minister Frattini”.
“We expressed our desire to stand by the Libyan people”, the Premier continued, “and to respond, to the extent that we are able, to the requests the transitional government presents to us”. Berlusconi added that the government was willing to “unfreeze Libyan funds currently frozen in the Italian banking system”. “We have begun with an immediate initial installment of €350 million”.
The Prime Minister of the Libyan transitional government, Jibril, thanked the Italian government for having given immediate instructions to unfreeze the €350 million, with which”, the Prime Minister said, “it will be possible to start emergency activities such as collecting weapons from the road and setting up citizen services”. “Now”, Jabril explained, “we expect our Italian friends to play an important role in the care of civilians”. In his statement the Prime Minister described it as “a pleasure and an honour” to be in Italy, “to express appreciation and gratitude”, for the positions taken by our country.
The ENI firm will sign an accord with the NTC on Monday in Benghazi “for the supply of large quantities of methane and gasoline for the needs of the population”, according to Berlusconi. The accord states that the Italian firm will supply gasoline and diesel fuel to the “new” Libya, with payments to be in the form of oil once the oil fields are back up and running, CEO Paolo Scaroni of ENI specified.
The Memorandum of Understanding also includes the intervention by ENI experts to study the resumption of activity in several oil fields in Cyrenaica.
SOURCE
Italy – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
