Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the Prime Minister of the new Libyan government Abdel Hamid Dbeibah on Monday. A large-scale visit: 14 ministers and several senior officials accompanied the head of the Libyan government. On the program, enhanced economic cooperation, particularly in the field of hydrocarbons.
During a joint press conference held in the early evening, Recep Tayyip Erdogan first recalled Turkey’s commitment to respect “the integrity and sovereignty of Libyan territory”. Despite accusations and requests for withdrawal from the international community, Ankara has never officially recognized the presence of Turkish mercenaries on Libyan soil.
The Turkish president then announced a series of cooperation with Libya. First of all, the military to “stop the massacres” and avoid the fall of Tripoli, then health within particular the donation of 150,000 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 and finally economic with the promise of massive investment on the part of companies Turkish. This last point is important for President Erdogan, who reports our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer.
“In Libya, we must now focus on reconstruction, on development, and on the well-being of our Libyan brothers,” says Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey, with its strong institutional structure and strong private sector, will support all aspects of the reconstruction of Libyan infrastructure and superstructures. We agreed on the actions to be implemented to accelerate the return of the Turkish private sector to Libya. “
* Maintenance of the agreement on resources in the Mediterranean
Another important announcement is the imminent reopening of the Turkish consulate in Benghazi in the east of the country while this area is still under the control of Marshal Haftar. But also the maintenance of the controversial agreement on the exploitation of maritime resources, negotiated in 2019 by the predecessor of Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, Fayez al-Sarraj.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on this point that Ankara drew from this support. This maritime delimitation agreement allows it to assert rights over large areas of the eastern Mediterranean.
In his speech, the Libyan Prime Minister stressed the importance of Turkey’s role in ensuring a lasting ceasefire in Libya and assured that Turkish companies would play an important role in the reconstruction of the country. The two leaders are due to attend a meeting with Turkish business leaders on Tuesday.
