Libyan dialogue leads to comprehensive agreements

Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, was present during the reading of the joint statement. Picture: Valentin Flauraud Keystone/AP

Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, was present during the reading of the joint statement. Picture: Valentin Flauraud Keystone/AP

Published Sep 13, 2020

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The delegations of the Libyan High Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament jointly announced on Thursday that they had reached a comprehensive agreement on the "transparent and objective criteria and mechanisms to occupy the posts of sovereignty".

Fighting in Libya escalated after the ousting and murder of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

However, this week's meeting in Bouznika, a city in Casablanca-Settat, Morocco, resulted in positive agreements to end the strife.

The joint statement read by Driss Omran of the Libyan House of Representatives said: "Both parties also agreed to continue this dialogue and to resume these meetings during the last week of September".

Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, was present during the reading of the joint statement.

Delegations of the Libyan High Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament called on the UN and the international community to support Morocco's efforts to create the right conditions and a conducive climate to achieve a comprehensive political solution in Libya.

Reiterating both parties' thanks and gratitude to the Kingdom and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the joint statement said: "May God Assist Him, for the support and assistance to overcome the Libyan crisis and achieve the hopes of the Libyan people and their aspirations to build a civil and democratic State that enjoys peace, security, and stability".

The Libyan High Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament affirmed that their meetings, which took place in "a friendly and fraternal atmosphere marked by understanding and consensus".

Last month, the Tripoli-based and internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) issued instructions to all military forces to immediately cease fire and all combat operations in all Libyan territories.

Reports on 21 August said the truce and expected elections were also agreed to by an ally of General Khalifa Haftar, who controls large parts of the east and south of Libya.

The joint statement warned that at different levels, there was an extremely dangerous situation threatening the security, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the state, "born of negative foreign interventions that revive wars and regional and ideological alignments".

Commenting on the agreements, Morocco Foreign Affairs Minister Bourita, said: "The compromises born from the meetings of the two delegations of the Libyan High Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament have confirmed the Kingdom's belief that Libyans are capable of finding solutions to their problems without tutelage or influence".

The Libyan High Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament said such meetings were in line with Article 15 of the Libyan political agreement reached in Skhirat and were a confirmation of the conclusions of the Berlin conference supporting a political solution based on relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Bourita said the High Council of State and the House of Representatives are "the cornerstones" for any progress towards finding solutions to issues concerning the Libyan crisis.

He said important compromises were reached by the two delegations regarding the appointment to the posts of sovereignty.

Bourita said the compromises were "not a mere declaration of intentions or recommendations, but rather compromises and concrete decisions about institutions and issues that have a direct impact on the daily life of the Libyan people.“

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