File Photo: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi meeting with Libyan General Khalifa Haftar (Photo: Handout by the Egyptian Presidency)
Egypt is expected to host the seventh round of talks between Libyan military officers representing the army of General Khalifa Haftar and the Sarraj government in April to discuss the unification of the Libyan army.
In the sixth round of talks, the Libyan military officers agreed to have a new round of talks as soon as possible to discuss the unification of the Libyan armed forces to enable it to face terrorism, illegal migration, organised crime, or any other threat to Libya's stability.
Last September, Egypt was chosen by the Libyan armed forces to be “the starting point of reorganising the country's army, as it was at its initial foundation” following a Cairo-hosted Egyptian-Libyan committee meeting where a range of Libyan military officials discussed why the Libyan armed forces have faced impediments to development and unity over the past seven years.
Egypt has been working to help secure stability in its neighbouring country, and has been calling for the implementation of the Skhirat agreement, which was signed in December 2015 and calls on Libya’s rival governments in Tobruk and Tripoli to establish a national unity administration.
In a three-article file, Al-Ahram Weekly attempts to explain why.
Egypt’s role in the resolving Libyan crisis
Egypt’s initiatives to reach a diplomatic solution to the Libyan crisis are designed to bring stability to the country and to respect the views of regional stakeholders.
Libya and the Egyptian economy
The conflict in Libya has cost the jobs of at least one million of the most vulnerable Egyptian workers, underlining the economic stakes of finding a solution.
Unifying the Libyan army
The re-unification of the Libyan National Army is at the top of Egypt’s legitimate national-security interests in the country.
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