Ethiopian PM in talks with Libyan envoy, US delegation

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 6, 2004 (Ethiopian TV) — Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has held talks with Libyan President Mua’amar Qadhafi’s special envoy on bilateral issues and on peaceful resolution of the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict.

In a similar development, US delegation led by former US ambassador to Ethiopia, met and discussed with Prime Minister Meles on ways and means of giving support to universities.

Delivering President Mua’amar Qadhafi’s message to Prime Minister Meles, the special envoy for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Ali al-Tiriki, said Libya is desirous for the peaceful resolution of the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Dr Ali also said that Libya has no other stand other than resolving any conflict through peaceful means.

The envoy, who said Libya had made efforts to resolve the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea peacefully, adding that Libya has plans to go to Eritrea in a bid to seeking ways and means of resolving the problem peacefully.

Dr Ali has also discussed with the prime minister on ways and means of strengthening the Ethiopia-Libya relationship on trade and other sectors.

In another development, US delegation led by former US ambassador Tibor Nagy held discussions with Prime Minister Meles on ways and means of how American universities could support educational institutions in Ethiopia.

The 13-man delegation drawn from seven universities has visited the Mekele, the Addis Ababa and Unity universities in a bid to strengthen capacity building in Ethiopia.

The team has also plans to support Ethiopia’s ongoing efforts in manpower development, capacity building and democratization process and would also prepare ground for cooperation between universities of the two countries.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service, original text in Amharic.