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Berlusconi in Libya for Kadhafi talks on illegal immigration

Fri Jun 27, 12:48 PM ET

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was in Libya on Friday for talks with the country's leader Moamer Kadhafi expected to focus on stemming the flow of illegal immigrants to Europe.

It was Berlusconi's first diplomatic outing abroad since he returned to power as premier for the third time in April after an election in which immigration was one of the hottest issues.

He was received on arrival in Sirte 600 kilometres (370 miles) east of Tripoli by Kadhafi for a brief two-hour visit that was not announced in advance by the authorities in the capital, an AFP correspondent said.

On Tuesday Italy's ANSA news agency quoted Interior Minister Roberto Maroni as saying Berlusconi's trip was aimed at achieving "implementation of the accord signed in December 2007 on the common patrols along the Libyan coasts."

Under the deal Italian naval vessels were to patrol off the Libyan coast with Libyan sailors on board to combat illegal immigration, but the agreement has yet to be implemented and thousands continue to make the perilous voyage.

Italian shores, especially the small island of Lampedusa south of Sicily, are a favourite destination for those making the crossing from Libya and other parts of North Africa in the hope of a new life in Europe.

The interior ministry in Rome estimates that 16,482 clandestine immigrants landed in Italy last year after "probably" setting off from the Libyan coast.

Maroni told Italy's right-leaning daily Il Giornale this week that the Berlusconi-Kadhafi meeting would be crucial in trying to solve the problem.

"If the head of the government convinces him to implement agreements, the question of arrivals at Lampedusa will be all but solved," the paper quoted him as saying on Monday.

Italy and Libya, a former Italian colony, have spent years negotiating a wide-ranging treaty covering compensation for colonial times.

A key component is the construction of a three-billion-euro (4.65 billion dollar) coastal motorway through Libya, Tunisia and Egypt -- funding of which was promised by Berlusconi on a visit to Tripoli in 2004, when he headed a previous administration.

Formerly a part of the Ottoman Empire, Libya was occupied by Italy in 1911 before becoming a colony in the 1930s. The country gained its independence in 1951 after a brief period under a UN-mandated Franco-British administration.