Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi (R) and his counterpart from France Nicolas Sarkozy listen to national anthems at Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli July 25, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    CAIRO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli on Wednesday evening in his trip to deepen relations with the northern African country, said reports reaching here from the Libyan capital.

    Sarkozy arrived in Tripoli earlier on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Libya's release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor once sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV virus, with the help of France's mediation.

    Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalgham was quoted by media reports as saying that Sarkozy started talks with Libyan leader Gaddafi on Wednesday evening on means of boosting bilateral cooperation.

    The French president called his visit to Tripoli as a "political trip" to help Libya's reintegration into the international community after decades of isolation.

    The two countries would sign an agreement on cooperation on a military-industrial partnership and a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a Libyan nuclear reactor for water desalination, according to Shalgham.

    France contributed a great deal to the release on Tuesday of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, held in Libya since 1999 and was sentenced to death for deliberately causing an HIV outbreak at a Benghazi hospital and infecting 426 children with the virus.

    Their death sentence were commuted last week under a deal between the Libyan side and the European Union. The six left Libya on a French plane accompanied by Sarkozy's wife Cecilia.

    Sarkozy's visit to Libya is part of his African tour that will also take him to Senegal and Gabon, where he is expected to sign a number of cooperation agreements with the two countries in the economic, scientific, cultural and educational spheres.

    Nurses in HIV case return home from Libya

    SOFIA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor jailed in Libya for allegedly infecting local children with HIV virus returned Bulgaria early Tuesday.

    The six medics left Libya after an accord was reached with the European Union, which included measures to improve the medical care of children with AIDS in Libya and equip the hospital in the city of Benghazi.