Libya’s foreign minister Mohamed Abdulaziz arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss his country’s security challenges with his Egyptian counterpart, according to state media.
The Libyan minister arrives for the talks in the wake of meetings conducted by Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry addressing the issue of Libya’s security issues, which threaten to spill over its border with Egypt.
Shoukry met with Arab League envoy for Libya Nasser Al Qudwa and Egyptian officials on Thursday and they “discussed the latest developments in Libyan territory, and the most important challenges facing Libya on the security and political fronts”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
The meeting on Thursday and the meeting between the two ministers aim to follow up and “build on” what was agreed upon during a meeting on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement at the end of May and last month’s African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea.
The participants in the meeting in May agreed to“maintain the territorial integrity of Libya, work for the stability of the situation, the prevent division between Libyan parties, and work to achieve aspirations of our Libyan brothers”.
Shoukry also met with Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil El Araby on Thursday. During their discussion the pair touched upon the situation in Libya, as well as the developments in Iraq and Syria and the threat that these situations pose to the wider region.
Former Libyan rebel General Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign in May to root out “terrorism” in the coastal city of Benghazi; however, the authorities have denounced his actions, labelling him an outlaw, while Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb labelled him “an enemy of Islam”.
Libya’s security situation has been fragile since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with many militant groups co-opted into the countries military following the dictator’s fall. The groups are known to act autonomously on occasions.
Egyptian truck drivers are often kidnapped when working in Libya and in January some Egyptian diplomats were kidnapped.
