Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received Tuesday in Cairo airport 20 Egyptian citizens who were repatriated after militants detained them in Libya last December.
Al-Sisi congratulated them on their safety, saying Egypt will spare no effort to secure Egyptians, domestically and abroad.
He further praised Libya’s collaboration and efforts to free the Egyptian citizens.
Meanwhile, the Libyan presidential council announced the formation of the new Libyan government of national unity Tuesday.
This announcement was expected to take place Sunday, but was postponed by the council.
The government, with 32 ministers, is supposed to end the conflict in Libya between the two warring parties, according to a UN-backed plan.
On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry spoke with Libyan Foreign Minister of the Tobruk Government Mohammed Al-Dairi on the possibilities of overcoming the Libyan crisis and efforts aiming to form a national unity government.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid said in a statement that both sides agreed to support the formation of the national unity government in Libya. Shoukry also discussed the status of Libyans in Egypt and expressed Egypt’s commitment to facilitate their residency. Both ministries agreed to continue consultations over the current situation.
Al-Dairi told journalists, after the meeting, that Libya is keen to form the national unity government as soon as possible, to lift the sanctions on arming the Libyan army. Libya is currently battling the “Islamic State” (IS) militants who have carried out several attacks on Libyan oil facilities. Al-Dairi reiterated that Libya rejects any external interference.
IS forces are trying to compensate for losses in territory in Syria and Iraq by seizing more cities in Libya. Recent attacks resulted in the deaths of 70 people, according to Al-Dairi. He urged the international community to lift the embargo on the Libyan army so that it can confront IS, especially with the influx of militants fleeing across the Libyan-Tunisian border.
President Al-Sisi addressed joint collaboration efforts to fight terrorism, especially in Libya, in a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday.
Presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said in a statement that Al-Sisi and Renzi affirmed the importance of supporting the formation of the new Libyan government as the first step to achieve security in the country.
Renzi also expressed Italy’s keenness to collaborate with Egypt in several fields, praising the development Egypt witnessed in many fields.
The Libyan presidential council that is supposed to form the government said Sunday in a statement that progress was achieved in the negotiations, but that they needed two more days to reach the final result. The delay in forming the national unity government reflects the conflict between the warring Libyan groups.
Libya has been governed by two governments since 2014, one in Tobruk and one in Tripoli.
The UN-backed agreement, signed in Morocco, aimed to find solutions to the points of conflict between both governments, but the heads of the two parliament said the MPs who signed this agreement only represent themselves. The agreement gave the Tunisian-based presidential council one month to form a national unity government.
After the formation of the new government, the Tobruk parliament will have only 10 days to agree upon it.
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