Libya witnessed intensive diplomatic movements during the recent days after the meeting held between Libyan Head of internationally-recognized government Fayez Al Sarraj and Marshal Khalifa Haftar in Abu Dhabi. Sarraj held a number of meetings with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Fano to discuss the recent developments and the ways to contain illegal immigration, as Algerian Minister Maghreb Affairs Abdelkader Messahel began a visit to Tripoli on Saturday.
Italy’s foreign minister has again insisted he remains supportive of the Presidency Council and its acting administration during a visit to Tripoli for talks with an array of Libyan leaders. Despite this, Angelino Alfano told Faiez Serraj that dialogue had to reassure Libyans that the goal was to finally implement the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).
“Only inclusive and Libyan-owned dialogue, within the LPA, can advance reconciliation and consolidate effective institutions,” Alfano insisted. These efforts could only be aided by bolstering Libya’s stability, although both sides noted that the security situation in Tripoli had improved to a certain degree recently.
Unsurprisingly, the Italian delegation, which included its ambassador Guiseppe Perrone, was keen to discuss illegal migration concerns. Recent cooperation agreements signed in Rome were put under the spotlight.
This included equipping and training the Libyan coastguard to confront migration and smuggling. However, Serraj and Alfano also looked at strengthening Libya’s porous southern borders with the introduction of electronic systems that could track smugglers better.
Italy brokered a deal in Rome last month that seeks to set up units to patrol the southern borders. Those involved in the deal included representatives from the Tebu, Tuareg and Awlad Sulaiman communities. With Italy becoming the first country to reopen its Tripoli embassy in January, Serraj also said he was grateful for the help of Alfano and his government in aiding Libya’s path forward.
Alfano insisted he was “proud of the Italian Embassy and of its hard work, as the only European presence currently in Tripoli.”
Before the meeting with Serraj, Alfano also saw PC deputy Ahmed Maetig, with whom the Italians have an especially close relationship. The Italian foreign minister also pressed Maetig on the migrant theme saying “we trust Libya to effectively work with us in the fight versus human smuggling”.
In the same context, All six active members of the Presidency Council (PC) met together on Friday night to review Faiez Serraj’s Abu Dhabi meeting with Khalifa Hafter as well as assess the situation in southern Libya. Serraj said the aim of his Hafter talks had been to reach a political consensus based on the Skhirat Agreement, prevent any further escalations of violence and to support the stability of Libya.
With intermittent fighting still occuring in the south, part of the discussions was devoted alleviating the suffering faced by Fezzan residents. With Ramadan on the horizon, providing foodstuffs and other commodities for Libyans was also looked at, as were measures adopted by the PC in attempting to boost the country’s economic performance.
Without giving specific names, Serraj also praised the help of “several friendly countries” and the “positive contribution of those countries in resolving political, security and economic bottlenecks and accelerating the return of their companies and diplomatic missions back to Libya”.
On the other hand, UN envoy Martin Kobler had a “constructive meeting” with House of Representatives (HoR) head Ageela Saleh today in the latter’s home town of Guba, 200 kilometres west of Tobruk. It is the fourth meeting between the two since Kobler was shunned by Ageela Saleh in January and his plane prevented from landing in Tobruk.
“Good discussion on way forward for the political processes,” Kobler tweeted after today’s meeting, indicating that outcomes of the Abu Dhabi encounter took centre stage in their meeting. The HoR revealed little else either, other than that the two discussed the latest Libyan political developments and how to make the UN-sponsored Libya Dialogue a success.
The Guba get-together comes just two days after the UK’s foreign minister Boris Johnson visited Saleh in Tobruk for what has been described as a “fruitful” meeting.