The presidents or prime ministers of over 25 countries are expected to attend a conference later this week in Paris on the future of Libya, French government sources said Tuesday.
In total around 60 representatives from over 30 countries and several multilateral organizations are billed to attend the conference, which will discuss ways of supporting Libya's government-in-waiting, the Transitional National Council (TNC), in rebuilding the country after six months of war.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso have confirmed their attendance at the summit to be co-hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron, in the presence of the TNC leadership.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and the heads of NATO and the Arab League are also expected at the talks, along with the prime ministers of Tunisia, Qatar and Lebanon and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the African heads of state expected are President Idriss Deby of Chad, a longtime ally of ousted Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi whose country recently endorsed the TNC.
It was not clear whether Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa, which have been invited, would send representatives. Russia and China abstained from the United Nations vote in March that authorized military intervention against Gaddafi's regime.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said last week Russia would only consider recognizing the TNC if it managed to reunite the country.
The French sources said they were hopeful of Russia participating in the conference.
Algeria, where Moamer Gaddafi's wife and three of his children obtained refuge Monday, was not on the provisional list of participants. - Sapa-dpa