Egyptian diplomats and intelligence officials visited Libya’s capital Tripoli on Sunday, Libyan officials confirmed, reported The Washington Post.
It was the first visit by a high-level Egyptian delegation to Tripoli since 2014 when Libya descended into a civil war between the United Nations recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).
Ayman Badea, the deputy chief of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, led the Egyptian delegation. The delegation had a meeting with Fathi Bashagha, the interior minister of the Tripoli-based government, Ahmed Matiq, the deputy prime minister of the Tripoli government, and Emad Trapolsi, head of intelligence in western Libya.
Bashagha’s office said in a statement that the officials discussed mutual security challenges and ways to increase security cooperation.
According to the statement, they also discussed ways to support a cease-fire deal brokered by the UN that Libya’s warring sides signed in October.
Bashagha, who visited Cairo last month, tweeted that the meeting was very constructive, and described the relations with Egypt as crucial.
“Fruitful and constructive meetings with Egyptian security delegation today in Tripoli, in which we discussed ways of enhancing cooperation in security and intelligence in a manner that preserves interests of both countries and the region from terrorist and organized crime threats,” he wrote in his Twitter post.
Deputy Prime Minister Matiq said they also discussed the reopening of the Egyptian Embassy in Libya after more than six years of closure, as well as the resumption of flights between the two countries.
In related news, Turkey, one of the primary foreign backers of the GNA, on Sunday warned that any attack by eastern Libyan renegade military commander Haftar and his army on its security forces deployed in the country would be met with force.
The warning came after Haftar called on his army to drive out Turkish forces from Libya.
