Sisi calls for withdrawal of all foreign troops from Libya, says Egypt will always support Libyan people

CAIRO – 12 November 2021: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called, Friday for setting a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and mercenaries that entered Libya after 2011.

He reiterated in his speech at Paris international conference on Libya that Egypt is willing to support the Libyan authorities to implement the 5+5 Joint Military Commission's plan in this regard, as well as uniting Libyan institutions and building capacities so that Libyans could preserve their wealth and be able to determine their fate.

Sisi also called on all parties inside and outside Libya to cease imposing the fait accompli policy, in addition to stopping to provide safe havens or any form of support for terrorist and extremist groups or transferring their members from one country to another, in order to bring Libya out of its crisis and alleviate the suffering of its people

The Egyptian President also called on Libyan parties to resolve all disagreements and expel all foreign troops from their country to build a free and independent state.

The Paris conference is organized by the United Nations, with attendance of regional and world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi; Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi; the UN envoy to Libya Ján Kubiš; the US vice president Kamala Harris; and Libya's Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbeibah as well as the head of the country's Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi.

Presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady posted later a photo for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi as he posed for a photo op with French counterpart Emanuel Macron and world leaders participating in the Paris International Conference on Libya, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the United Nations envoy to Libya.

Earlier Friday, Sisi praised the significant level of bilateral and strategic relations between Egypt and France at the political, economic, commercial and military levels.

President Sisi’s comments were given during a meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, Friday, on the sidelines of the Paris Summit on Libya.

President Sisi arrived in Paris on Thursday to attend an international conference on Libya on Friday, in response to an invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

On the sidelines of the Paris Conference on Libya, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly on Thursday. Both sides agreed on intensifying consultations and coordination during the coming period to counter-terrorism.

They made the remarks in a meeting in Paris, which hosts an international conference on Libya on Friday, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said in a statement.

Sisi and Parly agreed on enhancing coordination to eliminate the danger of terrorist elements and their movement from areas with tensions to other places, given the threat that this poses to the entire regional security, especially in North Africa and Sahel.