Zeidan and Muscat: a fleeting look at a budding friendship

The Prime Minister's surprise visit to Libya on Sunday not only bolstered the relationship between Malta and Libya but also embodied the strong friendship between Joseph Muscat and his Libyan counterpart, Ali Zeidan.

Muscat was the first Western leader to visit Zeidan following the latter's kidnapping on Thursday; and Sunday's visit was his third to Libya in his first seven months in office. Moreover, Muscat and Zeidan also met in Malta and New York in recent weeks.

Accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella, Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, Head of Government Communications Kurt Farrugia, four security personnel and a small party of journalists, Muscat flew to Libya aboard a jet chartered by the Libyan government.

Upon landing at the Mitiga military airport just after 1pm in Tripoli's sweltering heat, Muscat was given a warm welcome by Zeidan. As the two leaders hugged each other, Libyan army generals in full ceremonial uniform lined up to greet the Maltese delegation.

After a speedy and chaotic 10-minute drive to the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, the two leaders and their delegations held a 30-minute meeting, in which Muscat expressed his solidarity with Zeidan and said that political leaders should only be elected or removed from power through democratic elections and not violence.

On his part, Zeidan expressed his appreciation for Muscat's visit and said that the relations between the two countries were excellent. He added that the close relationship between the two leaders was taking relations to "the next level".

During the press conference in which Maltese and Libyan journalists were allowed to field their questions, Muscat said Malta wanted to send a message that it stood firmly behind the Libyan people's effort to build a democratic state where the rule of law is "paramount".

"We know that the majority of Libyan people do not believe that might is right and that governments should be removed with weapons. Governments should only be removed through elections," he said.

The three-hour visit came just three days after Zeidan was seized at the Corinthia Hotel by former rebel militiamen, only to be released a few hours later.

A former Libyan rebel group said on Thursday that it had kidnapped Zeidan after the government allowed the United States to capture top al-Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al-Liby in Tripoli last weekend.

Following his release, Zeidan denounced his kidnapping as an attempted coup and warned that some of the country's many armed militias want to turn Libya into "another Afghanistan or Somalia".

Zeidan's kidnapping deepened fears that Libya may be on the verge of disintegration, with security split between regular forces and many militia formations.

However, a resilient Zeidan said yesterday that Muscat's visit was a clear signal of the two countries' closeness and an affirmation that the use of violence was unacceptable.

During the joint press conference, Zeidan said, "We salute the people of Malta and reiterate our commitment to build a modern country, guaranteeing a civil and peaceful life to our citizens".

On his part, Muscat said, "We will always be there for you and I believe that the majority of Libyan people want a stable and democratic nation".

Although Muscat pointed out that the visit was not about business but only an act of solidarity, the two leaders could not avoid discussing migration and the tragic incident last Friday in which at least 30 migrants who had left Libya lost their lives at sea.

Zeidan said his government was investigating claims from survivors of the shipwreck that they had been shot at by Libyan militias as they left the North African coast.

He said preliminary investigations indicated the claim that the Libyan navy had fired on the boat was not true. He insisted, however, that should it turn out to be true after further investigations, Libya would take all necessary action.

Muscat added that imposing the rule of law and stability in Libya is crucial for security in the Mediterranean and Europe.

"Today's meeting was not about business, but we did speak about migration. We can work together on migration: I know that the Libyan government is committed to cooperate, and we discussed ideas which I will convey to the EU during the next council meeting."

Muscat said that following the kidnapping incident, he was concerned about Zeidan's health and today's visit was an act of solidarity.

Following another frenzied drive in a worn-out van from the hotel to the military airport, through which we, the journalists, were given a first-hand experience of Tripoli's wacky roads, we finally skipped out of the searing heat into the comfort of the air-conditioned jet.

During the short, 30-minute trip to and from Libya, during which the stewardess mistakenly served the food to the security personnel, thinking they were the politicians, we had time to mingle with the latter and share a few thoughts and jokes.

On our way back, Joseph Muscat revealed that upon meeting Zeidan earlier on, he had jokingly told the Libyan PM that at least he had got a new pair of spectacles and upgraded his look following his kidnapping ordeal - to which Zeidan replied that his daughter had passed the very same comment.