Top US official to go to Libya to cement ties

WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) The State Department's point man on Libya will visit there next week to cement closer ties with Tripoli and plan a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a senior US official said.

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch is due in Tripoli midweek on his first visit there since the case of the jailed Bulgarian and Palestinian medics was resolved last month.

''We wanted an interval to pass after the Bulgarian medics' case so that we could have a good conversation with the Libyan leadership,'' said a senior US official of Welch's visit yesterday.

''We want to consult with them about all matters of regional concern and of course discuss how to move forward with our bilateral relationship,'' added the official, who asked not to be named.

Another goal was to lay the groundwork for a visit to Libya, likely before the end of this year, by Rice, said the official. Such a visit would be a tangible sign of the improved relationship.

''We have a very important chance to memorialize the shift in the relationship,'' said the official of a visit by Rice.

''We have not set a date for it but the goal would be for that to happen this year.'' Relations between the United States and Libya, a major oil producer, have improved dramatically since Tripoli gave up weapons of mass destruction in 2003.

But the case of the Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who were jailed on charges of infecting Libyan children with HIV, had soured the relationship. The six medics said they were innocent and international HIV experts said the infections were most likely the result of poor hygiene.

With their release last month after an eight-year ordeal, the United States said this cleared the way for much closer relations with Libya.

US ally France has already seized business opportunities, with the French president visiting Tripoli immediately after the release of the medics and clinching closer nuclear and military cooperation.

Closer defense cooperation is not expected to be on Welch's agenda, which is likely to look at business, cultural and education ties as well as improved visa policies between the two nations. Sudan's Darfur region will also be on the agenda.

He is expected to raise other more thorny problems with the former foe, including final compensation for victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, as well as a 1986 attack on a disco in West Berlin that was used by US servicemen.

The US Congress has been holding up funding for US diplomatic activities in Libya because of the compensation dispute and the Senate confirmation process of the first US ambassador to Libya in decades is expected to be tough.

Reuters SZ VP0512