Libyan Leader to Visit Algeria to Rebuild Ties

Libya's new leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil will pay a visit to Algeria this month in a bid to improve ties between the two North African oil producers following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on Wednesday.

Speaking to French lawmakers in Paris, Medelci said Libya and Algeria had no choice but to work more closely together.

“I confirm that President Abdel Jalil will be in Algeria very soon, probably by the end of the year,” Medelci said during a hearing at France’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

“Our contacts before this visit have been extremely encouraging. We don’t have any other choice but to work together,” he said.

Libya’s new rulers accused Algeria of being on Gaddafi’s side during the revolution; although Algiers says it was observing strict neutrality and complying with U.N. sanctions.

Algeria’s most pressing worry has been that instability in Libya would open the way for militants of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to put hands on looted weapons there.

Western countries are also desperate for the neighbours to cooperate to prevent vast quantities of weapons and explosives that Libya’s revolution has put into circulation ending up in the hands of al Qaeda.