TRIPOLI: Egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi arrived in Libya on Monday on a visit to boost ties between the two neighbors whose longtime autocratic leaders were toppled last year, an AFP photographer said.
The trip marks Tantawi’s first state visit since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which he heads took over following the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak last February after an 18-day popular revolt.
"The visit is aimed at finding new horizons for cooperation and for contributing to the reconstruction of Libya," an Egyptian military official said.
Tantawi was welcomed by National Transitional Council (NTC) chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil and also met Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib.
El-Keib said on Monday that Libya will not dispose of investments made by former leader Moammer Qaddafi in Egypt, provided they are financially sound, Reuters reported.
"For investments (in Egypt), everything that is successful, or can be made successful, we will carry on with it," El-Keib told Reuters after talks in the Libyan capital with Tantawi.
Tantawi was preceded to Tripoli by a high-powered delegation of Cabinet ministers and businessmen.
Talks with the NTC are expected to focus on infrastructure and reconstruction projects.
"A number of agreements and protocols on cooperation are expected to be signed, including one concerning Egyptian workers entering Libya and their rights," Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency reported.
The talks will also cover Libyan investments in Egypt and the situation of Egyptian workers in Libya, where tens of thousands work, including many jailed during the uprising that toppled Qaddafi.
