NEWS

Prime Minister Pahor left to visit Libya at Gaddafi's invitation

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, today left for a visit to Libya at the invitation of the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi; assisted by Germany, Libya and Switzerland will sign an agreement ending a dispute over the entry of Libyan citizens into the Schengen area. The dispute arose after Switzerland adopted a restrictive policy on issuing visas to high Libyan representatives and Libya stopped issuing visas to citizens from the Schengen area.

   

On the initiative of Prime Minister Pahor, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia was actively engaged in seeking a compromise that provided a solution to this dispute. A gala dinner will be hosted by Mr Gaddafi to thank all the EU leaders who were actively engaged in resolving this dispute which was damaging relations between the EU and Libya. Prime Minister Pahor and Prime Minister Berlusconi played a particularly important role in resolving this dispute. The Slovenian Prime Minister, Borut Pahor, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister of Malta, Lawrence Gonzi, the Foreign Minister of Spain, Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé, the Foreign Minister of Germany, Guido Westerwelle, and the Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey, will witness the ending of this dispute.

   

On the margins of the dinner, Prime Minister Pahor will have a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi; they will talk about bilateral relations between the Republic of Slovenia and the Italian Republic. Prime Minister Pahor is also accompanied by Zoran Kus, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning.