U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the Washington-Tripoli ties as "a good start" after she met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to reports reaching here from the Libyan capital.
Rice made the remarks at a joint press conference with Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam after her meeting with Gaddafi, said the reports.
Rice told the reporters that the U.S. and Libya "are off to a good start" as the two countries "are establishing a way forward."
"We did talk about learning from the lessons of the past," she said, hailing the relationship between the two countries entered "a new phase" after it "has been moving in a good direction for a number of years now."
She revealed that Washington and Tripoli are working on or soon sign agreements on climate improvement for trade and investment, and educational and cultural exchanges.
Many U.S. companies are eager to invest in Libya, Rice said.
Earlier, Rice and Gaddafi met in a building in a government compound in central Tripoli, where Gaddafi raised a hand to his chest in a traditional gesture of welcome.
Gaddafi, wearing a white robe decorated with a broach in the shape of Africa, also shook hands with members of Rice's staff though there was no handshake between the two leaders.
The two sides discussed means of boosting bilateral relations as well as African and Arab issues, including the US role in solving African crises, especially in the Sudanese region of Darfur, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.
The United States had no diplomatic relations with Libya from 1980 until after the latter pledged to abandon weapons of mass destruction programs, stop exporting terrorism and pay compensation to the families of victims of the 1998 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland and a 1986 attack on a disco in Berlin.
Since renouncing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in 2003, Libya is no longer on the U.S. State Department's list of "state sponsors of terrorism."
Rice arrived in Libya earlier on Friday, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953. Upon touching down, she said that it is a proof that the United States had no "permanent enemies."
After Libya, Rice will also travel to Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, her spokesman announced Tuesday.
Source:Xinhua
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