Egypt uses international forums to reach political solution to Libyan crisis

CAIRO - 26 August 2019: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's remarks on the situation in Libya and its impact on the neighboring countries during his participation in the G7 Summit held in France's Biarritz affirms Egypt's interest in the Libyan issue.

In the same context, Haytham Sharabi, a human rights researcher, said that Sisi's statements on the importance of stability in Libya indicate that the strategic direction of the Egyptian state since the June 30 revolution is to preserve the unity of national states in the region and fight terrorism, corruption and poverty.

Sharabi added that the spread of terrorism in Tripoli poses a threat to the brothers in Libya, and threatens the national security of Egypt and the neighboring countries.

He also added that Egypt supports the Libyan national army in its fight against the armed terrorist militias and backs the right of the Libyan people to restore their oil wealth in a way that preserves their present and future.

Sharabi said that Egypt uses the presence of European countries, such as France, Britain, Germany, Greece and Italy,to establish strong relations with countries suffering from terrorism and illegal immigration,reduce the dangers of international terrorism and reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis.

For his part, Islamic scholar Hisham al-Najjar stressed the importance of President Sisi's statements on Libya, pointing out that some foreign powers are exploiting the need of Western countries to recycle terrorists after their defeat in Syria and Iraq to avoid directing their activity to the West and Europe.

Najjar added that these foreign powers are the main supplier of weapons, ammunition and manpower of al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood members to Libya, stressing that this poses a great danger not only to Libya but also to the neighboring countries as well as to European countries.

MP Mohamed Salah Abu Hamila said that President Sisi's statements on the Libyan crisis underscored the importance of halting all forms of infringement by the armed militias on the Libyan territory and people.

He said that the international community, including the G7 member states, should support the right of the Libyan people to own their land and their decision.

Abu Hamila added that all the Egyptian parliamentarians demand that the seven countries take decisive measures to prevent the arrival of financial funding and military equipment to these militias, asserting that the Libyan national security concerns the Egyptian state.

President Sisi said during the conference that the deterioration of the situation in Libya affects the security and stability of its citizens and of the neighboring countries as the terrorist organizations and the security liquidity that evolve from the spread of armed militias threaten the whole region.

G7 stands for seven countries (U.S., the UK, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and Canada), which represent 40 percent of the global GDP, according to the official website of the Elysee.

France had previously hosted the G7 summits six times since the establishment of the group in 1975 to tackle global issues of peace, security, health, education, environment, climate change, counter terrorism, etc.