/ 18 October 1999

LIBYA, RUSSIA IN TRADE PACT

LIBYA and Russia signed an agreement on economic and trade cooperation on Thursday, Libyan state television reported. The agreement was signed in Tripoli by Libyan Energy Minister Abdullah al-Badri and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who has responsibility for his country’s military-industrial complex. Klebanov met Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi on Wednesday and gave him a message from Russian President Boris Yeltsin, stressing “Russia’s desire to resume relations with Libya and open up new horizons for bilateral cooperation.”