Shoukry Meets Libya's Haftar in Benghazi

On Thursday, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, held a meeting with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, in Benghazi.

The meeting comes on the sidelines of Shoukry's participation in the Libya Stabilization Conference, held today in Tripoli.

During the meeting, Shoukry said that Egypt firmly stands alongside the Libyan People for reaching comprehensive stability, stressing that this will be achieved only after ensuring the complete withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign forces from Libya.

Shoukry headed the Egyptian delegation participating in the international ministerial conference to support Libya stabilization, which was held in Tripoli, with the participation of more than 25 foreign ministers, envoys and international representatives.

This is the first appearance by Marshal Haftar since he assigned the Lieutenant-General Abdel Razek Al-Nadouri as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces last month, as he takes a three-month hiatus.

In a speech in front of the Libya Stabilisation Conference in Tripoli, Shoukry called for the implementation of all terms of the ceasefire agreement, including freezing any military agreements signed by the two Libyan factions.

Egypt also called for the adoption of programs to disarm the members of militant groups and rehabilitate them so that they may re-enter society.

The Egyptian foreign minister called on the international community to play its role in holding parties seeking to evade their obligations and violating international decisions accountable and ensuring that they fulfill their responsibilities.

“Stability has demands, starting with ceasing violence and escalation and building bridges of peace to achieve a comprehensive complete national reconciliation in a way to achieve sustainable social peace and protect the national identity of Libya,” Shoukry addressed the conference.

Shoukry added that it is important to equitably distribute Libya’s wealth to achieve complete development across the country.

The foreign minister also hinted that Egypt is coordinating with the United States and EU to implement Libya’s economic reform agenda to ensure the fair end efficient utilisation of Libya’s natural resources.

On the sidelines of the conference, Shoukry met with a number of Libyan officials according to the Foreign Ministry, specifically Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya Mohamed Al-Menfi and his deputies Abdullah Allafi and Musa Al-Kuni.

Earlier today, Shoukry discussed with his Libyan counterpart Najla El Mangoush ways to boost the ongoing efforts to realise an all-out political settlement for the crisis in Libya.