Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met today in Cairo, Abdullah Al-Lafi, Vice President of the Libyan Presidential Council, and his accompanying delegation.
Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, the official spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, stated that Minister Shoukry reiterated during the meeting Egypt’s full support for the sisterly neighbor Libya as an independent and sovereign country over its entire national territory, noting the directives of the political leadership to harness all Egyptian capabilities to help the Libyan brothers overcome the current stage, and what this requires for coordinating efforts in international forums concerned with the Libyan issue, or by building on the current momentum in bilateral relations, in addition to the frequency of current visits between the two sides in light of the common interest they attach to advancing those relations at their various levels.
Minister Shoukry stressed Egypt’s support for the steady steps that Libya is witnessing to fulfill the political road map approved by the Libyans, leading to the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections on their scheduled date, as a pivotal step towards achieving the desired stability in Libya’s march for a better future, praising in this regard the efforts of the Libyan parliament that led to the issuance of the presidential election law, and its assumption of its responsibilities to implement the parliamentary elections law in coordination with the concerned Libyan parties.
Hafez added that during the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of the exit of all foreign forces, in addition to foreign fighters and mercenaries, from Libyan territory, which prevents Libya from restoring its full sovereignty, as well as its impact on the security of Libya’s neighboring countries. And the need to provide full support for the role of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee in the task of removing all forms of foreign presence from Libya.
For his part, “Abdullah Al-Lafi” expressed his country’s appreciation and pride in Egypt’s supportive role in Libya and efforts to stabilize it, praising the positive developments in bilateral relations between the two countries based on the extended historical and popular bonds that unite them, and the Libyans’ aspiration for the Egyptian role to continue in a phase reconstruction and development in Libya in light of the extensive Egyptian experiences in this regard, and the agreements signed on the sidelines of the work of the Egyptian-Libyan Joint Higher Committee last month.
Source: Libyan News Agency