Straits Times (9 May 2008) - I had good conversation with Gaddafi, says SM Goh
May 9, 2008
I had good conversation with Gaddafi, says SM Goh
Hour-long talks with Libya's leader focus on direction of its economy
By Chua Lee Hoong
IN TRIPOLI - SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong 'had a good conversation' with Libya's leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, here yesterday.
The one-hour meeting took place in an air-conditioned white tent at the Aziziya Barracks, a heavily guarded compound which is about a 15-minute drive from the city centre.
This is where Colonel Gaddafi usually meets visiting foreign dignitaries, said Mr Khaled Farhat, head of the foreign media department in the Libyan government.
Only SM Goh and the three office-holders accompanying him on the trip - National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed - were allowed into the tent with Colonel Gaddafi.
SM Goh told Singapore reporters after the meeting that he 'had a good conversation' with the Libyan leader.
'I was interested in finding out from him the direction that the Libyan economy would be taking. We need clarity in this as it will be difficult otherwise to invest in a big way in Libya,' he said.
Colonel Gaddafi, he noted, shared his concerns.
The 66-year-old leader is well aware that while the socialist path might have worked in Libya in the past 30 years, it could not continue indefinitely, said Mr Goh.
'In his own words, 'the world has changed', (and) Colonel Gaddafi would like to diversify the economy into one less dependent on oil.
'He knows there is a need to transform the Libyan economy from one that merely consumes to one that is also productive,' said Mr Goh.
But it is not immediately clear which way the Libyan economy will head as there are both reformist and conservative forces in Libya.
Its political system is one of direct people's democracy: There are the People's Congress and the 30,000 communes which also need to be persuaded. Anyone older than 18 can vote.
Asked to describe the Libyan leader, who came to power in a military coup in 1969 and is famous for writing The Green Book that sets out his socialist principles, Mr Goh said:
'I would say he is an introspective person, reflective, thinking about the problems of his country. Certainly an astute person.'
Mr Goh also met Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi yesterday. The meeting ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding for greater cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Goh and his delegation, who were on a four-day official visit to Libya, returned to Singapore today.
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