Libya moved closer toward international rehabilitation today by signing an agreement allowing the UN atomic watchdog to do snap inspections of nuclear facilities.
Under the additional protocol, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors can obtain short-notice access to any declared or undeclared sites where nuclear material may be present, to check for evidence of banned weapons activity.
Mr ElBaradei said the deal could be "a first step towards an Africa and Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction and at peace".
Earlier, the IAEA's governing board passed a resolution praising Libya for dismantling its secret nuclear weapons programme and commending Tripoli to the Security Council. Diplomats said the resolution noted Libya's past nuclear activities had put it in breach of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but applauded its current disarmament moves.
The moves marked significant fresh steps by Libya - long branded as a rogue state for sponsoring attacks such as the 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing - to reintegrate itself into the international community.
Tripoli made the surprise announcement last December it was abandoning all WMD programmes and would co-operate with the IAEA, the United States and Britain to dismantle them.
On Saturday, Libya dispatched a shipload to the United States containing all the equipment believed to remain from its nuclear weapons programme, along with longer-range missiles and launchers.