Hassan Rashad, chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence, paid his first visit to Tripoli since assuming office in October 2024 last week. The trip came amid heightened political activity shaped by Egyptian‑Turkish coordination and a parallel US initiative, both aimed at restoring stability in Libya.
The visit underscores Cairo’s growing role in efforts to address the political, security, and economic turmoil that has plagued the country since 2011.
Rashad’s visit to Tripoli came just one day after a meeting he held in Cairo with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, as well as with US Presidential Advisor on Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos and Deputy Commander of the Libyan National Army in the east of the country Saddam Haftar.
The Tripoli‑based Libyan Government of National Unity said that Libyan Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbeibah’s meeting with Rashad focused on bilateral cooperation and the latest political developments.
Both sides stressed the need to maintain coordination and consultation to bolster security and stability, safeguard Libya’s unity and sovereignty, and advance efforts to unify national institutions and consolidate the peaceful political process.
Relations between Cairo and Tripoli have been volatile since the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2021. While Egypt was Dbeibah’s first foreign destination after his government gained a vote of confidence, Cairo at the same time maintained its close relations with the Libyan authorities in Benghazi and their political and military leaders.
In late 2025, Major-General Khaled Hussein, deputy chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence, made a visit to Tripoli in a move that was seen as an indication of the resumption of direct political and security coordination between the two sides.
Political analysts agree that the timing of Rashad’s present visit cannot be separated from political developments taking place in Libya, including the American initiative to end Libya’s institutional division and restructure the executive authority on consensual foundations.
Rashad’s visit reflects an Egyptian desire to strengthen its presence on the Libyan scene more than an announcement of a new mediation initiative, said Libyan political analyst Elias Al-Barouni.
“The visit aimed to confirm Egypt’s presence at the heart of the potential political changes in Libya, including developing its relations with the west of the country and not limiting them to close relations with the General Command of the Libyan National Army,” Al-Barouni said in a TV interview.
He said that Cairo views Libya as a strategic issue related to its national security and noted that the visit also coincided with increasing regional activity, including a meeting hosted by Cairo that discussed the Libyan issue with the participation of regional officials and Boulos, reflecting Egypt’s keenness to remain an influential party in any future political arrangements.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Turkey have taken steps to de-escalate tensions in the region, particularly regarding the Libyan conflict, following years of disagreement.
These steps include recent visits and meetings between the intelligence chiefs of both countries and the authorities in the east and west of Libya and coinciding with discussions about the US initiative for power-sharing between the east and west.
An Egyptian diplomatic source told Al‑Arabiya channel that the Libyan crisis has been the focus of intensive talks in Cairo in recent days. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan discussed leveraging the close coordination between Cairo and Ankara on regional issues to help resolve Libya’s political divisions.
The source stressed Libya’s importance to Egypt and Syria’s stability to Turkey, noting that both sides had agreed to intensify efforts to reduce escalation in these arenas. He added that the coming period will see heightened activity on the Libya situation, aimed at laying the groundwork for stability and institutional unification.
Cairo, he said, supports a comprehensive Libyan‑Libyan process to unify institutions, rejects foreign interference, and calls for the immediate withdrawal of foreign forces, mercenaries, and fighters in line with international resolutions.
Egypt views this as a necessary prelude to holding presidential and parliamentary elections, given that Libya’s security is inseparable from Egypt’s.
The same source explained that Cairo has recently been playing an active role and is working on several parallel tracks. “Politically, we are engaging through the mechanism of neighbouring countries — Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria — to unify visions and intensify efforts aimed at bridging the gaps between all the Libyan factions and leaders without any exclusions.”
This comes in parallel with providing full support for the UN envoy to Libya and close coordination to enhance the effectiveness of the UN roadmap to ensure the implementation of the peace process according to specific timeframes, he said.
On the security level, “Egypt strongly supports the path of unifying military and security institutions and the work of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee. Egypt also adopts an approach that goes beyond the political and security aspects to include strengthening economic ties and supporting development programmes, believing that addressing the economic and social dimensions is a fundamental pillar for creating the appropriate environment for the success of the comprehensive political settlement,” he said.
Major-General Mohamed Rashad, former deputy chief of the General Intelligence, believes that Libya represents strategic depth for Egyptian national security, given the length of the shared border between the two countries and the vastness of Libyan geography, which makes any political or security developments within it a matter of direct interest to Cairo.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the proposed American initiative regarding Libya deserves to be studied and explored, but that the success of any political settlement will remain contingent on addressing security and military issues, especially in the light of the continued presence of armed militias in the west of the country.
There was also a need to involve the Libyan tribes, he said, as they are one of the influential components of the country’s political landscape.
Head of the Turkish Intelligence Service Ibrahim Kalin and head of the Italian Intelligence and External Security Service Giovanni Caravelli also visited Tripoli recently, where they met with officials in Eastern Libya, especially Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the National Army Saddam Haftar in Benghazi.
Security expert Khaled Okasha attributed this trajectory to the nature of the Libyan divisions, explaining that the existence of two parallel governments and institutions, including two foreign ministries and competing executive bodies, has made intelligence and security channels more capable of exploring positions, passing messages, and exchanging guarantees between the country’s different forces.
Okasha linked the intelligence diplomacy and activity to Boulos’ initiative, considering that the ongoing consultations aim to end Libya’s political deadlock and benefit from the Libyan national dialogue sponsored by the United Nations Mission in the country during recent months.
Boulos’ initiative is based on restructuring Libya’s executive authority by assigning the presidency of the Presidential Council to Saddam Haftar, while keeping Dbeibah as head of a unified government. This initiative was welcomed by the National Army in Benghazi, while the authorities in Western Libya have not yet issued a public position on it.
Okasha noted that the rapprochement between Cairo and Western Libya is becoming increasingly apparent, but that it comes amid understandings with the eastern camp at the same time.
He believes that Rashad’s visit to Tripoli came within the framework of exploring the positions of the political forces in Western Libya and the extent of their readiness to interact with new political arrangements, noting that the meetings that brought together Boulos, Saddam Haftar, and regional officials in Cairo reflect the seriousness of the efforts made at building a political consensus that is acceptable to the main parties.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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