Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Libya for talks with President Moammar Gadaffi Tuesday as it was revealed that oil giant British Petroleum (BP) will soon resume oil and gas exploitation in the North African state after an absence of 30 years.
Blair, whose five-day ”farewell trip” to Africa will also take him to Sierra Leone and South Africa, on Tuesday praised his ”good personal relationship” with Gadaffi and said his talks will range from commercial issues to cooperation with Libya against terrorism.
”The fact is we need Libya’s help now in combating terrorism and there are fantastic, huge commercial opportunities, but it’s also important for the development of Africa,” Blair was reported to have told journalists during the flight to Tripoli.
He said relations with Libya have been ”transformed” and are now ”completely productive”. He will also discuss cooperation on counter-terrorism measures with Gadaffi.
Government sources said the meeting is ”in recognition” of Gadaffi’s groundbreaking decision in December 2003 to give up nuclear weapons, and the final settlement reached for the more than 200 victims of the 1998 Lockerbie air crash. The breakthrough on the two issues is generally seen as having enabled Libya to return to the international fold.
In 2004, Blair became the first British leader in 60 years to visit Libya, a decision that was criticised.
Ten years ago it would have ”been unthinkable” for him to meet Gadaffi, said Blair, but that has now changed. ”I find very easy to deal with. I find the relationship with him a very easy one.”
Meanwhile, BP confirmed on Tuesday that it has been in talks with the Libyan government over resuming exploration in the country. BP’s move back into Libya comes two years after rival Royal Dutch Shell announced its return to the country.
British companies have been keen to exploit business opportunities in Libya since sanctions were formally lifted in 2003.
From Libya, Blair is scheduled to travel to Sierra Leone, where he can expect a warm welcome due to Britain’s deployment of troops in 2000, a move credited with hastening the end of a lengthy civil war in the West African state.
During his two-day stay in South Africa on Thursday and Friday, Blair will hold talks with President Thabo Mbeki and deliver a major policy speech on Africa — a central theme of Blair’s premiership in the past few years.
With the summit of Group of Eight industrial nations approaching, Blair wants to ”remind the world” to fulfil their commitments to Africa, a continent he has described as a ”scar on the conscience of the world”.
The humanitarian crisis in the Sudanese province of Darfur is also likely to be high on the agenda during his talks with African leaders.
A spokesperson for Blair said all three countries illustrate, in different ways, the benefits of Blair’s ”values-driven foreign policy engagement in Africa”. — Sapa-dpa