An Egyptian ministerial delegation to Libya, headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, returned with little to show for their trip, writes Amirah Ibrahim Chief of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi headed a delegation to Libya that included seven other ministers. It is the first time he has made such an official visit since the military council took over from president Hosni Mubarak last February. Tantawi's plane took off from Almaza air force base. He had initially intended to travel with the ministerial delegation on Sunday but delayed his departure by a day owing to the absence of Mustafa Abdel-Jelil, head of the Libyan transitional council, who was in Tunisia attending the commemoration of its revolution. Accompanied by Tantawi, and a number of SCAF members, Egypt's generals were greeted in Tripoli by an official welcome and a number of public protests. "Field Marshal Tantawi is here to congratulate Libyans on behalf of the Egyptian people and government for the success of their revolution and to promote cooperation and enhance the relationship between our countries," Libyan Prime Minister Abdel-Rahim Al-Keib said at the press conference that followed a lengthy meeting in a Tripoli hotel. The Egyptian delegation had arrived with a two part agenda, embracing national security concerns and economic cooperation. The military was keen to reach a deal with their Libyan counterparts that would help end cross-border traffic in smuggled weapons. Since the unrest that toppled Colonel Muammar Gaddafi vast quantities of weapons have been smuggled across the border into Egypt. In the last nine months border guards have successfully aborted several large operations, including an attempt to smuggle anti- aircraft missiles across the Western desert, but Egyptian security officials fear these are only the tip of the iceberg. Though tightening border security was one of the main aims of Tantawi's mission there has been no official indication of how the Libyan side responded. Meanwhile, the Libyans made their own political demands, including the return of Gaddafi loyalists who fled to Egypt. "We asked for Tantawi's help in returning representatives of the ousted regime who fled to Egypt and who represent a threat to Libya's stability," El-Keib said on Monday. "I raised the issue personally with the field marshal. Any results will take time." El-Keib also noted that the two sides had agreed to strengthen cooperation over the monitoring of the joint border but provided no further details. Tantawi's visit was punctuated by a series of protests, as Libyan demonstrators took to the streets -- even, at one point, the lobby of the hotel in which the Egyptian delegation was staying -- in solidarity with demands voiced by Egypt's own revolutionary youth. Libyan activists issued a statement denouncing Tantawi's visit: "We share the same destiny, similar revolutionary targets and the same blood as our Egyptian colleagues," it read. "We made the same sacrifices and adopt the same demands. Because we oppose dictatorship and support the building of democratic civil regimes we stand by our brothers in Egypt who are demanding an end to military rule." The Egyptian delegation included the ministers of energy and electricity, higher education and scientific research, education, petroleum, housing, labour and immigration and communications and IT. Before the civil unrest that led to the collapse of the Libyan regime more than two million Egyptian citizens were employed in Libya. If the Egyptian side had hoped the meetings would result in a reopening of the Libyan job market to Egyptians they were destined to be disappointed, though a joint statement issued by the Egyptian and Libyan ministerial delegations following their meetings revealed some progress had been made to promote joint ventures. "We have agreed to work more closely towards establishing and operating technological zones, on forging legislation to protect and secure information and on developing programmes to train Libyan cadres in this field," said the statement. Egyptian companies, it continued, would be welcome to contribute to the rebuilding of Libya's infrastructure. The statement noted that agreement had been reached for Libyan workers to be trained at certified Egyptian centres. The meetings did not, however, result in any firm contracts being signed for the rebuilding of Libya's infrastructure, and there was no indication of whether -- let alone when -- Egyptian workers could return. Limited agreements on the hiring of teachers and doctors, and of some training staff, were concluded, but the numbers involved are small. Any progress on the return of Egyptian workers will now have to wait for a follow up meeting between ministers from both sides, expected to take place in Cairo, at which ways of protecting the rights of expatriate workers are likely to figure high on the agenda. Field Marshal Tantawi returned to Egypt on Monday, the same day he left.
