Tunis hosts Ministerial Conference of Libya’s Neighbour Countries

TUNIS TAP – The 3rd Ministerial Conference of Libya’s Neighbour Countries opened works, Sunday in Hammamet, with attendance of the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Niger, the Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister and representatives of Egypt, Arab League special envoy to Libya Nacer al-Qudwa and the African Union Commissioner to Peace and Security.

Libyan FM Mohamed Abdelaziz did not manage to attend the meeting, as Tripoli airspace was closed by the Libyan authorities for security reasons. Libya’s ambassador in Tunis attended instead.

Chaired by Tunisia, the two-day meeting will discuss the developments of the situation in Libya where political turmoil and rising lawlessness are prevailing and means to assist the Libyan initiatives aimed to launch a Libyan national dialogue, establish transitional justice, strengthen the State institutions and the democratic transition process.

Taking the floor, Caretaker President Moncef Marzouki asserted that Tunisia’s hosting of this conference is „dictated by the duty of fraternity and neighbourhood,“ adding that „this duty commands unification of efforts to help the country reach consensus, without undermining the Libyan sovereignty or act as lecturers.

„He affirmed commitment to see to it to build bridges of dialogue between the various Libyan political and social protagonists, to try to make the necessary compromises to edify „a State for all.“

„There is no ready solutions for the Libyan crisis, but we could work together with the influential actors on the Libyan political and associative scene and in co-ordination with the United Nations, the Arab League and the African Union to find a solution to this crisis and lay the foundations of a sound policy.“

For his part, Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi proposed during the meeting, the creation of a security operation room gathering all the Libyan neighbours to better monitor borders with this country .“It will facilitate security co-ordination and data exchange as part of a joint strategy to monitor the borders of Libya’s neighbour countries, “ he explained.

Facing terrorist threats in the regions of North Africa, Sahel and Sahara, he added, it is necessary to redouble vigilance and favour security co-ordination with the Libyan competent authorities to detect the activities of terrorist organisations and thwart their criminal plots.

via Tunis hosts Ministerial Conference of Libya’s Neighbour Countries