Libya: visit of an Egyptian delegation, a step towards rapprochement between the two countries
Fayez el-Sarraj, the Libyan Prime Minister (Government of national unity), on January 11, 2020 in Rome.
AP - Gregorio Borgia
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
This is a first since 2014: an Egyptian delegation was on an official visit to Tripoli, Sunday, December 27, to the Government of National Unity of Fayez el-Sarraj.
During the Battle of Tripoli, Egypt, along with Russia and the United Arab Emirates and a few Western countries, had supported its rival, the strongman in the east of the country, Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
But according to Libyan diplomacy, the objective of the two countries is the return to normalcy.
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The aim is to normalize diplomatic relations.
But also to re-establish air links between Cairo and Tripoli, and to launch cooperation projects, in particular security.
In short, the objective of the visit of the Egyptian delegation to Tripoli is to restore normal relations between Libya and Egypt, which had been interrupted in 2014.
► To read also: Libya: the GNA tries to be reconciled with Egypt
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohamad Elgeblawi made the announcements on Twitter, while in Tripoli, the Cairo delegation, including the deputy director of intelligence, had just met the Libyan interior minister. , Fathi Bachagha, in the presence of his head of the General Security.
A visit that was intended to be reassuring, then, while in recent days,
the war of words
has been lively between Khalifa Haftar and the government of Tripoli.
The strongman in eastern Libya threatened to drive out what he called “
the Turkish occupier
”.
Tripoli responded that its troops were ready to respond.
But despite verbal hostility,
the ceasefire obtained under the aegis of the United Nations
is still respected.
And besides, the meeting on Sunday aimed to support it more, according to the Libyan Minister of the Interior.
An Egyptian embassy in Tripoli could therefore reopen "
as soon as possible
", according to Cairo, six years after its closure.
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Libya
Egypt
Fayez el-Sarraj
Khalifa Haftar
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