About a fortnight ago I was invited by the Ministry of Economy and the Chamber of Commerce in Holland to be the keynote speaker in a seminar about Libya.
On one hand I could sense the eagerness of the many participants to know more about Libya as they would like to venture in this exciting new economy. On the other I could sense the foreboding that existed in the room. The many questions that were asked were indeed an appeal for reassurance that things are now different. One could see that the years of negative propaganda in the European media about Libya are still stuck into the minds of many and that it is this media barrage rather than the factual appreciation of what is the current state of affairs in Libya that is driving the decisions of many people.

Twenty years of contact with Libya
I have been in contact with Libya for the past 20 years. For nearly 16 years I operated at the political level as a joint chairman of the joint commission between our two countries. This joint commission was kept very active, building on the good work done in the 1980s, and updating the political and economic relationship between the two countries. I remember a meeting between Gaddafi and the then Prime Minister Dr Eddie Fenech Adami, in which we discussed Malta’s accession to the European Union and Libya’s initiative on the African Union. Malta and Libya are two important contact points where these two continents join.
This has its advantages, and it has its problems.

Opportunities
Over the difficult years of the embargo, when Libya was being hit by every country in Europe and the US, we kept a positive approach towards Libya while scrupulously adhering to the provisions of the UN sanctions. Today we should be reaping the benefits of this long-term positive relationship. As Libya has started its root and branch restructuring, pouring billions of dollars into its infrastructure, Maltese companies should have a much larger presence than they do today. As Libya is reconstructing its institutions in an attempt to interface with the global economy, Malta should be much more aware of the opportunities that are opening up. Last week, BNP Paribas bought 19 per cent shareholding of Sahara Bank. This innocuous move shows that the decision has been taken to open up the banking and financial sectors and one expects changes in regulations to follow suit.
I am afraid that we have lost the momentum in our relationship with Libya. Some time ago Tony Blair was in Libya heading consortia to sign off contracts in oil and arms supply. Last week, sitting in the lobby of the Corinthia Hotel with some clients, I was intrigued by the buzz in the crowded lobby as Sarkozy, the French President, made his first visit to Libya in a mark of improving relations between Europe and Libya. This is our golden chance to be relevant and act as the connecting point to this country. But Malta does not seem to understand what is really happening. I have offered my assistance to the Prime Minister more than once in this regard, but although seeming enthusiastic at the time we speak he seems to forget our conversation some minutes after we part company.

The Downside
The downside of our border relationship with Libya is the influx of illegal immigrants that we are experiencing. I have read some rather harsh comments in this paper about this issue, pointing fingers and jumping to conclusions.
While I understand the bad feeling of all Maltese about this unwanted invasion which is causing a grave problem and building into a huge social problem in our country, I suggest that we first understand the dynamics of this problem and then seek long term solutions.
The solution to the immigration problem is not financial assistance. The solution is to stop the influx and to repatriate the thousands of immigrants that we are hosting.

Understanding the problem
We need to understand that the problem does not start in Libya. It starts in Africa. The cause is the unstable political situation, the tribal strife and the economic stagnation that is Africa. If someone has to take responsibility for this it is surely not Libya. It is the European colonisers who occupied these countries, left an institutional vacuum and plundered the rich raw materials of these countries without building an economic structure.
Libya might have overreacted to these problems when some years ago, in order to emphasise the African Union Concept, it opened its borders to all and sundry. Hundreds of thousands took up the invitation and Libya soon closed its borders again and now is working hard to ensure that anybody in Libya is properly registered and is accounted for by an employer. Many have been returned to their country. However we must also realise that Libya has about 4,600km of border, and this is breached in many place by human beings who take the risk of a desert crossing on foot rather than stay at home.

The solution
In 1989, I attended a meeting in Rimini organised by the Pio Manzu foundation and which discussed, amongst other things, the pressures that the North of the Mediterranean will be experiencing from the South. In my speech on the subject I stated that as long as there is this great disparity between the two sides, with Africans seeing Europe as their heaven, the pressure will continue. It will only stop if the peoples of Africa can aspire to a peaceful existence in their country and a decent quality of life – work, education and health care.
I believe that this is the solution today.
Frontex and the like are temporary stop gap solutions. The long term solution is a focused, well directed, well-funded initiative to develop Africa’s economies and to organise their institutions. Europe should call on all its members, especially those who built up their resources on African wealth, to participate substantially in this programme.
This, I believe, should be an initiative spearheaded by Malta.

John Dalli is a Nationalist MP and former Minister of Finance.