The Prime Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, who is heading a high-level delegation, is visiting Paris as part of a foreign tour that he started from Algeria, then Italy, and from there to France, which he arrived on Tuesday in order to mobilize support for his government.
He received French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Dabaiba and discussed with him issues of consolidating the ceasefire and the elections scheduled for the end of this year in Libya.
The French presidency indicated that Paris will renew its demand to withdraw what it describes as mercenaries and foreign powers from Libyan territory, and will also renew its support for organizing elections in Libya.
President
For his part, Dabaiba said that Libya looks forward to an important role for France in supporting stability by supporting legitimacy and “contributing to the expulsion of mercenaries.”
He added that there are a number of agreements that have been concluded in the field of energy, security, infrastructure and investment, looking forward to reactivating them and completing joint projects that have been suspended for a while as soon as possible.
Dabaiba and French Minister of Armies, Florence Parly, stressed that Libya’s sovereignty and respect are the basis for its relations with countries, and that developing relations in the security, economic and political fields with France is of interest to the national unity government.
The media office stated that Dabaiba and Barley discussed security cooperation between the two countries, especially in securing Libya’s southern borders, and activating a number of agreements concluded between the two countries and following them up through the holding of the Libyan-French Joint Higher Committee.
The meeting, which was attended by the Minister of Interior in the Libyan government Khaled Mazen and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Jumaa, touched on the resumption of training programs, part of which were implemented during the past years, and which target members of the Libyan military establishment.
In Italy too
For its part, Italy pledged to provide additional support to Libya to help it control migration, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said yesterday.
After talks with Dabaiba, Draghi said Italy was ready to fund repatriations and voluntary evacuations from Libya.
“I think it is a moral duty, but I also believe that it is in Libya’s interest to ensure respect for the rights of refugees and migrants,” Draghi added.
He added that Italy will continue to play its role, but the European Union must move faster and more decisively.
Migrants often risk the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean from Libya in order to reach Europe in small, weak boats, and many do not survive the journey.
Libya has been witnessing a political breakthrough for months. On March 16, an elected transitional authority, comprising a unity government and a presidential council, assumed its duties to lead the country to parliamentary and presidential elections on December 24.