Kadhafi meets Swiss president in New York
TRIPOLI – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has met Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz in New York amid continued tension between the two countries, official Libyan news agency JANA reported on Wednesday.
The meeting took place on Wednesday evening at Kadhafi’s quarters in New York, where Kadhafi has attended the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.
Merz stressed “Switzerland’s commitment to respect the agreement between the two countries after the unjustifiable incident against diplomat Hannibal Kadhafi and his family, in which it gave an apology and promised there would be no further such incident,” JANA said.
Switzerland and Libya have been locked in a diplomatic tussle since July 2008, when Hannibal Kadhafi, one of the leader’s sons, was arrested with his wife in Geneva after two of their servants, a Moroccan and a Tunisian, alleged they had been mistreated.
The Kadhafi couple was freed on bail after two days in custody, while the complaint against them was later dropped after a lawyer said the servants had received compensation.
The arrest sparked outrage from the Kadhafi family.
It led to a freeze on Swiss business, the withdrawal of Libyan assets from Swiss banks and disruption to oil deliveries. In addition, two Swiss businessmen were blocked from leaving the North African country.
At Wednesday’s meeting Merz spoke of “Libya’s wish to develop bilateral international relations with mutual interest and mutual respect,” Jana added.
JANA made no mention of the two businessmen still being held in Libya and viewed in Switzerland as “hostages” taken by Tripoli in reprisal for the arrest of Hannibal Kadhafi and his wife.
Libyan assets in Switzerland last year plunged to just 628 million Swiss francs from some 5.7 billion francs in 2007, according to data from the Swiss central bank.
A Libyan investment fund is looking to leave Geneva amid the continuing standoff, economics monthly Private Banking said on Tuesday.
The Swiss branch of the Libyan African Portfolio, which manages over five billion dollars in assets, “is looking to leave Geneva before year end due to current tensions” between Switzerland and Libya, according to the October edition of the monthly.
The meeting took place on Wednesday evening at Kadhafi’s quarters in New York, where Kadhafi has attended the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.
Merz stressed “Switzerland’s commitment to respect the agreement between the two countries after the unjustifiable incident against diplomat Hannibal Kadhafi and his family, in which it gave an apology and promised there would be no further such incident,” JANA said.
Switzerland and Libya have been locked in a diplomatic tussle since July 2008, when Hannibal Kadhafi, one of the leader’s sons, was arrested with his wife in Geneva after two of their servants, a Moroccan and a Tunisian, alleged they had been mistreated.
The Kadhafi couple was freed on bail after two days in custody, while the complaint against them was later dropped after a lawyer said the servants had received compensation.
The arrest sparked outrage from the Kadhafi family.
It led to a freeze on Swiss business, the withdrawal of Libyan assets from Swiss banks and disruption to oil deliveries. In addition, two Swiss businessmen were blocked from leaving the North African country.
At Wednesday’s meeting Merz spoke of “Libya’s wish to develop bilateral international relations with mutual interest and mutual respect,” Jana added.
JANA made no mention of the two businessmen still being held in Libya and viewed in Switzerland as “hostages” taken by Tripoli in reprisal for the arrest of Hannibal Kadhafi and his wife.
Libyan assets in Switzerland last year plunged to just 628 million Swiss francs from some 5.7 billion francs in 2007, according to data from the Swiss central bank.
A Libyan investment fund is looking to leave Geneva amid the continuing standoff, economics monthly Private Banking said on Tuesday.
The Swiss branch of the Libyan African Portfolio, which manages over five billion dollars in assets, “is looking to leave Geneva before year end due to current tensions” between Switzerland and Libya, according to the October edition of the monthly.
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