Following is the text of U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar’s speech to the U.S.-Libya Business Association in Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 5, 2007.
Good morning and thank you for this invitation. I would like to extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Muhammad Siala, the Deputy Secretary for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation. I recall our visit together in Libya and his gracious hospitality as we arranged and rearranged our schedules during a hectic day of meetings. We had an enlightening discussion about Libya’s economic program, and his presence here is another positive sign of the growing ties between our countries. I understand that Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Shalgam are planning to exchange visits, which would be very beneficial to the U.S.-Libya bilateral relationship.
I would also like to thank David Goldwyn for arranging this second opportunity to address the U.S. – Libya Business Association. The first time I appeared before you was shortly after I had met with Colonel Qaddafi in his desert compound in 2005. I had gone to Libya in cooperation with the Bush Administration to explore the next steps in our evolving relationship. Our meeting on that August afternoon began under a canopy in a very traditional desert setting. But I am happy to say that pragmatism governed both the substance of our discussion and our venue. The meeting ended an hour and a half later, long after we had moved out of the heat into an air-conditioned trailer.
On that occasion, we had the chance to discuss the Libyan program for revitalizing its relationships with the rest of the world. I reaffirmed that U.S. relations with Libya would intensify if Libya continued to cooperate on key issues. Colonel Qaddafi expressed frustration that the promised benefits of normalized relations with the United States were not being realized more swiftly in Libya. He mentioned that other Arab leaders had accused him of giving up too much and getting too little in return. I responded that Libya’s willingness to renounce terrorism and WMD programs had been in Libya’s own interest. I encouraged him to stay the course and reaffirmed that the United States was serious about building a much closer relationship with Libya. I underscored that continued improvements on the human rights front were particularly important in maintaining diplomatic momentum.
The remarkable reversal by the Libyan government was based on a rational assessment of Libya’s position in the modern world. Although many challenges remain, much progress has been made as officials in both Libya and the United States have been working diligently on matters of mutual interest.
Let me review some of the progress to date. As many of you know, Libya was selected earlier this month by the United Nations General Assembly as a rotating member of the Security Council beginning on January 1, 2008. In order to achieve that important position, Libya has taken actions to build the confidence of the international community. A Security Council seat is a rare opportunity that Libya should use to demonstrate its new course. Libya is no longer acting alone, but in concert with many other countries with varying interests. If Libya plays a constructive role on the Security Council, it would help build international confidence in Libya’s determination to banish its troubling reputation of the past.
Much of U.S.-Libyan cooperation in recent years has been focused on facilitating Libya’s renunciation of weapons of mass destruction. Libya’s willingness to reveal and remove the associated equipment and materials was one of the most hopeful international events of this decade. As one of the authors of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which has worked in cooperation with the states of the former Soviet Union to safeguard and destroy WMD arsenals, I am particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with Libya to safely dismantle its weapons programs. Since its renunciation of WMD in December 2003, Libya has signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and agreed to spot inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Libya has committed to eliminate all of its ballistic missiles beyond a 300-kilometer range with a payload of 500 kilograms and agreed to abide by Missile Technology Control Regime guidelines in the future. Libya played a major role in the exposure of Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan’s nuclear black market and continues to provide information on the Khan network. In early 2004, Libya worked closely with the United States on the dismantlement and transfer of the infrastructure of its nuclear weapons program, including their missile delivery system.
Libya’s granting of access to WMD sites for international monitors brought it into compliance with international norms and set a firm foundation upon which to expand cooperation. This was not a simple logistical process. It required Libyan and American officials to work carefully and deliberately together. It had been decades since such cooperation between our countries had occurred.
Although these efforts were a clear success, more progress is needed. The United States must reexamine its response to Libya’s request for aid in destroying its extensive chemical stockpile. This was an opportunity that should have been seized with enthusiasm by the United States. Bilateral negotiations on a destruction agreement proceeded slowly, even though Libya still possesses enough precursor chemicals to make thousands more chemical weapons. Late last year, the deal was effectively scuttled when the United States refused to consider an increase in its contribution to the destruction effort. I have communicated frequently with the Bush Administration about this, and remain hopeful that the United States will play a constructive role.
Since the Libyan decision to give up its WMD programs, the United States has established an active scientific partnership with Libya. This partnership includes programs involving nuclear sister lab agreements, scientist reengagement efforts, and anti-proliferation initiatives – all areas in which the Nunn-Lugar Program has developed valuable expertise. We should expand scientific cooperation in alternative energy sources to help Libya avoid the path of over-reliance on a one product economy. I understand that Libya has already begun to explore renewable wind and solar energy that are compatible with its vast desert regions.
In the area of international affairs, Libya continues to reengage with the international community and is playing an increasingly active role. Libya is facilitating a dialogue to resolve the Darfur crisis, and it provides a humanitarian corridor to send needed supplies to that region. Just last week it helped broker a peace agreement between Chad and Chadian rebel groups. Further, Libya is currently serving as President of the Arab Maghreb Union and has long been an advocate for greater AMU cooperation, particularly in counterterrorism.
Libya is pursuing increased U.S. direct investment, which would translate into American jobs and business opportunities. Such opportunities, however, require patient cultivation and a consistent presence to develop confidence between the actors. The United States and Libya must show greater commitment to facilitating commercial links. While oil and gas development remain the biggest investment prize in Libya, the U.S. entry into the Libyan market is increasingly diversified outside the hydrocarbon sector. In the first half of 2007 alone, U.S. imports of Libyan goods rose almost 22 percent, while U.S. exports to Libya grew by nearly 77 percent. Libya has indicated its intent to modernize road, water, electricity and residential infrastructure, and its 2007 economic development budget is more than $24 billion.
In the area of education and cultural ties, we have seen Libya increase the number of students studying in the U.S. to one hundred after just one academic year. The United States hopes to see that number increase to one thousand in the near term. We also have exchanged Fulbright Fellows, and a full-time American professor is now teaching in Libya. The importance of direct, personal exchanges cannot be emphasized enough. The U.S. is also working with Libya to support educational reforms, particularly in English language teaching, science and technology, and administration.
In 2003 Libya accepted responsibility for past terror acts and renounced terrorism publicly at the United Nations. Although sanctions had been lifted earlier, in June 2006 Libya was removed from the U.S. State Sponsor of Terrorism list. Indeed, Libya has developed strong cooperation with the U.S. in countering terrorism.
Recently Libya took steps to deal with the issue of the Bulgarian medics. Libya finally released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor held for nearly 10 years under a death sentence. They returned home in July of this year. The terrorist attacks of the 1980’s in Berlin and on Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland similarly require a resolution. Libya has acknowledged responsibility for them and has settled several international claims. The Libyans have twice sent legal teams to the United States to pursue a resolution of outstanding claims, which are also before our courts. However, final settlement of the Berlin and Pan Am attacks has not been achieved, despite progress.
As we move forward, it is vital that the U.S. has skilled representation in Libya and a functional embassy from which to conduct business. Until now, our Liaison Office and our Embassy have operated with a limited staff in the confined spaces of a hotel. The challenges such a situation presents to our own interests are obvious. An Ambassador and a fully functioning embassy are not rewards, but valuable tools for the U.S. to promote its interests and engage Libya on all manner of critical affairs including, human rights, pluralism, security issues, visa issues, regional affairs, and economic growth. A functioning embassy also will better enable the U.S. to adjudicate and assist in pending claims by U.S. citizens. In the absence of an ambassador, the United States has posted very skilled professional diplomats in Libya, including the current Deputy Chief of Mission, Christopher Stevens, who served on my Foreign Relations Committee Staff.
Nevertheless, the Senate should immediately consider the President’s nomination of Gene Cretz to be our Ambassador to Libya and move without delay, to round out the U.S. team. We must seize the opportunity that has availed itself and reciprocate in kind with the Libyan government here in Washington.
As Libya begins a new chapter in its history, it faces great challenges in adapting its institutions. I am encouraged by the Qaddafi Foundation’s call for a constitution, greater democratic freedoms, and an independent civil society. I am also hopeful that Libya’s decision to downsize the government owned sectors and to begin privatizing Libya’s banks will encourage confidence and attract foreign investment. Such a broad opening will also serve to encourage foreign visitors to its magnificent Mediterranean seacoast and sites of antiquity.
Libya has enormous potential to become a force for stability and economic growth in North Africa and the broader Mediterranean and Middle East regions. We cannot afford to allow this nascent success story to falter. It is time for the United States to step out more boldly with the Libyans on all fronts.
The prospects for the future are in stark contrast to a photo that hangs in my Washington office. It was taken April 14, 1986. It shows me sitting with Bob Dole, Robert Byrd, and other Congressional leaders and President Reagan at the White House. He had summoned us to share the news that he was sending American warplanes to bomb targets in Libya in response to evidence that the Libyan government had been complicit in the attack on U.S. military personnel in Berlin. Our faces are tense in that photograph, as the President asked for our counsel and we contemplated what the action would mean for the future. At that moment in 1986, I could not have conceived that two decades later Libya would be undergoing a transformation that would open it to diplomatic recognition, economic investment, and geopolitical partnership with the United States.
Transformations in any field are rare events, no less so in the realm of diplomacy. Such events present historic opportunities previously unfathomable and should be seized upon with creativity on both sides. I am hopeful that you will join me in nurturing the U.S.-Libyan relationship as we seek to build confidence and establish mutual endeavors that will benefit the Libyan and American people far into the future.
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