Sisi urges maintaining Libyan-Libyan dialogue, advancing political settlement in phone call with presidential council head

CAIRO – 13 March 2021: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi urged maintaining Libyan-Libyan dialogue to curb foreign interference, as he made a phone call on Saturday with new head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed Al-Menfi.

Sisi congratulated Menfi on the formation of a new executive authority in Libya and as the new government under Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh obtained the parliament’s confidence, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said.

The president urged building on these positive steps and advancing the path of political settlement in Libya.

Menfi, during the phone call, hailed Egypt’s sincere efforts seeking to restore security and stability in Libya and to achieve development in the Arab country, in light of the historic ties linking Egypt and Libya.

Menfi affirmed the new executive authority’s keenness to continue enhancing the brotherly relations with Egypt in a way that achieves common interests for both countries and guarantees progress and prosperity for their peoples.

The phone call comes only few days after lawmakers voted 132-2 in favor of Dbeibeh's newly formed government.

Sisi, separately on Saturday, made a phone call with Dbeibeh, during which he voiced Egypt’s readiness to implement developmental projects in Libya as a priority for the Libyan people.

Sisi affirmed Egypt’s full support to the Libyan government under Dbeibeh and voiced Egypt’s readiness to introduce the Egyptian experience in the fields that would help achieve political stability in Libya, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said.

Sisi also stressed his confidence in Dbeibeh’s ability to manage the current transitional period, achieve comprehensive reconciliation among Libyans and unify the state institutions in preparation for holding national elections in December.

The president congratulated Dbeibeh as his government obtained the Libyan parliament’s confidence, saying this step represents a prominent historic step on the way of settling the Libyan crisis.

Dbeibeh, for his part, expressed thanks to President Sisi and appreciation for the Egyptian sincere role and tireless efforts to settle the Libyan crisis.

Dbeibeh underscored the special brotherly relations between Egypt and Libya and the historic ties gathering their peoples.

The Libyan prime minister expressed keenness to continue boosting cooperation, consultation and intensive coordination with Egypt, the spokesman added.

On February 6, Libyan delegates at UN-facilitated talks chose Dbeibeh as a prime minister-designate, along with a three-member presidency council, to govern the war-ravaged North African country until the December elections.

Egypt welcomed the step and expressed its aspiration to work with the new Libyan interim authority over the coming period until transferring the power to an elected government in the elections due to convene on December 24, 2021.