TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - The United States has opened a trade office in Libya, the latest in a concerted push to normalize relations after three decades of confrontation and sanctions.
The opening of the trade section follows U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's landmark meeting with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last month.
The visit came about after Gadhafi renounced terrorism in 2003 and the government agreed to pay compensation to the families of the 1988 bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
According to Monday's statement from Libya's trade ministry, U.S. Assistant Commerce Secretary Israel Hernandez, Libyan officials and businessmen from both countries attended the office's opening on Sunday. |