CANADA’S Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa will become the first Canadian minister to visit Libya next week during a three-country visit to Africa, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department said on Thursday. In April 1999, Canada lifted its sanctions against Libya, both UN sanctions imposed in 1992-1993 and unilateral ones imposed by Canada in 1986. Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa David Kilgour will make the historic visit to Libya to officially open Canada’s embassy, which was announced in June. During his January 16 to 18 visit to Tripoli, Kilgour will meet with the General Secretary of Foreign Affairs Abdel Rahman Shalgham and other senior officials. “The visit is intended to reinvigorate constructive political dialogue with a view to encouraging Libya’s efforts in the process of reintegration into the international system,” a Foreign Affairs statement said. Some 1 000 Canadians live in Libya, mostly working on energy projects, according to the department, which could not immediately provide any trade figures. – AFP