Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi said the settlement signed in the city of Benghazi opened the door to partnership between the two states.

Mr Berlusconi said the deal, which sees the money being released over 25 years, ended "40 years of misunderstanding".

Libya was occupied by Italy in 1911 before becoming a colony in the 1930s.

The former Ottoman territory became an independent country in 1951.

This is the first African country to be compensated by a former colonial master, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from Benghazi.

The question is, she adds: will this latest move set precedents for other former African countries to follow suit?

Coastal motorway

Mr Berlusconi explained that $200m would be paid annually over the next 25 years through investments in infrastructure projects, the main one being a coastal motorway between the Egyptian and Tunisian borders.

There will also be a colonial-era mine clearing project.

As a goodwill gesture, Italy also returned an ancient statue of Venus, the headless "Venus of Cyrene", which had been taken to Rome in colonial times.

The settlement was a "complete and moral acknowledgement of the damage inflicted on Libya by Italy during the colonial era", the Italian prime minister said.

"In this historic document, Italy apologises for its killing, destruction and repression against Libyans during the colonial rule," Col Gaddafi said for his part.

The agreement was signed in the Benghazi palace which once housed the Italian colonial administration, Reuters news agency reports.

Rome and Tripoli have spent years arguing over compensation for the colonial period.

Mr Berlusconi's one-day trip was his second since June when illegal immigration from Africa to Europe was the key issue of talks.

Italy has been swamped by thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores by boat.

Libya has come in from the diplomatic cold since 2003 when it abandoned efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Next week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to make the first high-ranking American visit to Libya since 1953.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi shake hands


Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy seals Libya colonial deal

Published: 2008/08/30 16:49:16 GMT

the answer to that is... NOPE!

clearly, obeying orders, begging for freedom and bootlicking does not respect from former colonizers bring.

if Mugabe is around 40 years from now, he would be receiving money from the British who would be at pains to get back in his good favours or face losing out in a lot of ways. they will be at pains to apologize for all they did wrong, even willing to pay a lot of money in reparation. that's if some nitwit Tsvangirai doesn't take over and ruin everything.

true life testament...

$5bn is peanuts compared to what they woudl really owe, but its a good start and hopefully a start for many others.

nigeria would need to wait first. so that that $5bn doesnt end up in a swiss account

The Nigerians are already pressing for repirations although I think its for certain acts rather than the crimes of the europeans in their country as a whole, this is part of what I was saying about repirations, seeing slavery and colonialism as the Maafa, as an act of crime one thats ongoing, rather than requesting they pay a (major) court case needs to be held for those crimes against us. At least thats my opinion, wouldn't be justice otherwise.

Think Gaddafi is on point regardless of him being arab, with the E.u taking shape alongside china and other nations we're all going to be in for a very rough time, if he can do what he claims without selling the continent out to the arabs or the europeans then I'd side with him. Although I doubt he will. It would be one of those, ''can't complain'' situations.... the italians giving back the Venus (aphrodite) of ceyene is a grand gesture although its Greek and not Libyan, they've also given ethiopia back relics but haven't paid any repirations I don't think.

Have heard that they have energy plans for the Northern regions of the continent...


Theres enough solar power in the sahara to supply the entire continent apparently,

So they got a big pile of paper that will most likely be used to buy bigger homes for a handful of people.

Nothing to celebrate

They are paying in various ways, construction projects and so on.