Dbeibeh in Turkey to explore support that strengthens his continuity… Details
In search of support to strengthen the assumption of his continuity and to dispel speculations about his imminent departure, the outgoing Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh paid a visit to Turkey and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and then with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Dbeibeh‘s visit to Turkey came after a period of lukewarm relations, a decrease in visits and communications between the two sides, and the Turkish stance on the parliament and the State Council’s movements before the removal of Khalid al-Mishri from his presidency, regarding a change in the government.
During the visit, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh discussed (6) files with Hakan Fidan in Ankara, including the return of Turkish Airlines, addressing the problems of Libyans residing in Turkey, and canceling visas between the two countries. This took place during a meeting held at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, attended by the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister’s Advisor, according to a statement released by the government’s Facebook page.
According to the statement, Dbeibeh and Fidan affirmed their support for the efforts of the UN envoy, Abdallah Batelli, to hold fair and transparent elections, unify local and international efforts to achieve the elections, and conclude the transitional phases in Libya.
The statement also added that the meeting discussed several files that were agreed upon with the Turkish President, the most important of which was the return of Turkish Airlines, addressing the residence issues of Libyans in Turkey, and the cancellation of visas between the two countries from both the Libyan and Turkish sides.
The reconstruction of Derna and neighboring towns was also discussed, and the statement quoted Fidan as saying that Turkey is ready to contribute to and participate in this file.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Dbeibeh at the “Wahiduddin” Palace in Istanbul, and they discussed the file of the reconstruction of Derna and the use of Turkish expertise in dealing with disasters.
The “Our Government” platform on Facebook reported that Dbeibeh and Erdogan agreed to “enhance cooperation in the field of military training and raise the efficiency of the Libyan army.”
Libya and Turkey have strong relations, reflected in security, military, and economic agreements, the latest of which was signed on October 3rd, aiming to develop projects related to the exploration, production, transportation, and trade of oil and natural gas.
The Turkish parliament is preparing to discuss the memorandum of understanding signed between Ankara and Tripoli regarding cooperation in the field of energy, which has sparked angry reactions from Egypt and Greece.
Erdogan presented the memorandum to parliament in June, following parliamentary elections and before the summer break, which extended until the beginning of this current October, to complete the approval process.
The memorandum, an extension of a memorandum signed between Ankara and Tripoli in 2019 regarding delineating jurisdictional areas in the Mediterranean Sea, aims to enhance cooperation between oil and gas companies to exploit energy resources in Libya, work in exploration, and develop oil and gas fields within Libyan territory and its maritime region.
Since taking office, Dbeibeh has been keen to be a friend to all countries, which represents a departure from the policy of alliances pursued by previous governments.
