Egypt voices trust in new Libyan government’s ability to protect national unity, sovereignty

CAIRO – 11 February 2022: Egypt expressed its trust in the new Libyan government’s ability to reach the national goals that would contribute to protecting the Libyan unity and sovereignty and preserving the country’s security.

This comes while the Libyan House of Representatives in the east approved on Thursday Fathi Bashagha to head the Libyan government.

Abdulhamid Dbeibah, the prime minister-designate, has refused power transition except to an elected premier, describing the House’s move as an attempt “to enter Tripoli by force”.

The Libyan government under Dbeibah was supposed to hold elections last December but elections were cancelled amid divisions.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman valued the role of Libyan institutions and its assumption of its responsibilities, including the measures taken by the House of Representatives to consult with the State Council in accordance with the Skhirat Agreement.

This comes as the Libyan House of Representatives is the elected legislative body that expresses the brotherly Libyan people and entrusted with enacting laws, granting legitimacy to the executive authority, and exercising its oversight role over it, the ministry added.

The ministry affirmed support in the new government to control the internal situations, create the climate required for holding the elections, and implement all the entitlements of the roadmap approved by the Libyan people.

“Egypt calls on all national institutions and powers as well as Libyan social components to prioritize the supreme interest of the country, resort to the voice of the reason, preserve the internal stability, and not be drawn into any calls of resorting to violence or force to spoil the current political efforts,” the ministry said.

Egypt continues to communicate with all Libyan parties with the aim of bringing their views closer, ensuring the preservation of the country’s security and stability, meeting the aspirations of the Libyan people, supporting comprehensive national reconciliation efforts between the Libyan brothers, and unifying Libyan institutions, the ministry said.

The ministry affirmed support to the efforts of the joint 5+5 military committee’s efforts that seek to implement the outcomes of the Paris and Berlin conferences as well as the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council regarding the withdrawal of all foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya without an exception and within a certain timeframe.

Egypt will also continue its efforts within the framework of its joint presidency of the Libyan Economic Working Group in a manner that achieves the interest of the Libyan people in preserving their wealth and capabilities, the ministry added.

“Egypt believes that the course of settling the Libyan crisis remains in the hands of the Libyan people alone, without foreign interference or dictates,” the ministry said.