US President George W. Bush on Wednesday signed an order lifting some defense export restrictions on Libya, letting US companies work with Libya to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons and allowing it to refurbish eight transport planes.

Libya bought the eight C-130 planes from the United States in the 1970s.

In a memorandum to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush said he waived certain restrictions under the US Arms Export Control Act because it was in the national security interest of the United States. The law restricts defense exports to Libya because the North African country is on the State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism.

The waivers are in keeping with the US commitment to unblock Libyan property in the United States in response to Libya's disarming.

Diplomatic relations between Washington and Tripoli were restored in June 2004 after a 24-year rupture following Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi's surprise announcement in December 2003 that he was giving up the quest for weapons of mass destruction.

The United States started last year to move toward normalizing trade and investment with Libya, allowing the import of oil from the North African state.

Source: China Daily