CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr travels Thursday to Tripoli on the first visit by an Arab official since the "victory" of the Libyan revolution, the foreign ministry said.
Amr, due to arrive Thursday evening in Tripoli, has been tasked by Egypt’s new military rulers with examining ways of "pursuing and bolstering" ties with Libya’s new authorities in the National Transitional Council (NTC), ministry spokesman Amr Rushdi said.
He will be accompanied by Labor Minister Ahmed Al-Borai and will offer assistance from Egypt and outline steps for "immediate" cooperation in various sectors including ones considered a "priority" for Libya, Rushdi said.
Amr will offer cooperation to help Libya clear areas around flagship oil and industrial sites of mines sown by forces of the Qaddafi regime, and to take to Egyptian hospitals for treatment 20 critically wounded Libyans.
NTC fighters had said in July that demining efforts outside such areas as the eastern oil hub Brega were being hampered, and claimed that Qaddafi forces had sown more than 40,000 mines in and around just that Mediterranean town.
Egypt also "agreed to print Libyan school textbooks," to help pupils resume school as soon as possible and not lose another year, Rushdi said.
Amr will also inform the Libyan authorities that Egypt’s national carrier EgyptAir will resume flights to Libya as soon as the no-fly zone ban imposed by the NATO coalition is lifted and airports are operational.
The Egyptian delegation will also discuss the situation of Egyptian nationals in Libyan —where tens of thousands work — including those now held in jail.
Egypt is also willing to train Libyans in the field of constitutional and legal practice as they strive to rebuild their institutions, Rushdi added.
Egypt, Libya’s eastern neighbor, has held back until the end of August before recognizing the NTC as the legitimate government in Libya.
In February, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising that lasted 18 days.
