Italy and Libya decided Saturday to promote their ties of friendship and cooperation as Rome agreed to compensate Tripoli for the mistakes it had made during its 1911-1943 colonial rule, said media reports reaching here from Libya.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who arrived in Libya's Mediterranean city of Benghazi earlier in the day, signed the "friendship and cooperation agreement" with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during their talks, said the reports.
According to the signed accord, Rome pledges a compensation package of 5 billion U.S. dollars to Libya through investments in infrastructure projects in 25 years, while Tripoli promises its cooperation with Rome on the fight against illegal immigration.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the two leaders hailed the signing of the accord, saying the "historic document" opens the door to the future cooperation and partnership between the two sides, ending "40 years of misunderstanding."
Libya has accused Italian troops of killing thousands of Libyans and drove thousands more from their villages and cities during the colonial era.
But relations between the two countries have warmed over the last few years though the two sides took years of negotiations to reach the deal on compensation for Italy's colonial rule over Libya.
Source:Xinhua
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