Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend a meeting in Paris on Thursday which will mark a shift in international support for Libya's rebels to long-term goals from the short-term objective of toppling Muammar Gaddafi, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

"The days and weeks ahead will be critical for the Libyan people, and the United States and its partners will continue to move quickly and decisively to help the (rebels) and address the needs of the Libyan people," she said.

Nuland said the rebel National Transitional Council was expected to present a report outlining its priorities for international help on governance, security, humanitarian relief and economic reconstruction.

"The first priority is to get the Libyan people's money back to their governing authority and to them," Nuland said, saying any additional pledges of financial help would depend on how quickly things move.

"They are themselves very interested in getting the oil flowing again, the gas flowing again. It's a rich country. They want to support themselves, so let's start with getting their money back to them and getting the economy back on track."

The United States and prominent European members of the anti-Gaddafi coalition all face their own economic problems, which could cripple any plan to harness western taxpayer money to pay for Libya's reconstruction.

Global Arab Network

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