Egypt welcomes meeting’ results of Aguila Saleh and al-Mishri to resolve Libyan Crisis
Egypt welcomed on Saturday the results of the meeting between the speakers of the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State, stressing that the path of the Libyan Constitutional Committee is the way to resolve the crisis politically.
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the agreement between the Speakers of the Libyan House of Representatives, Counselor Aguila Salah, and the Head of the so-called “High Council of State”, Khalid al-Mishri, to refer the draft constitutional document to both Chambers for approval, with the aim of completing the procedures represented in electoral laws and executive procedures and unifying Libyan institutions, is an important step in moving forward towards holding the presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously in Libya at the earliest date.
After the Cairo meeting, Libyan leaders called for speeding up elections
During the statement, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid praised the role of the Libyan House of Representatives and the Libyan State Council in carrying out their responsibilities, noting that the path of the Libyan Constitutional Committee, composed of the two houses, which started its rounds from Cairo in April 2022 under the auspices of the United Nations, is the main one that embodies the will of the Libyan people as it came under the exclusive Libyan ownership by the competent Libyan institutions, with the aim of fulfilling all frameworks that allow the implementation of a political settlement towards the future.
Abu Zeid also expressed Cairo’s hope that the two chambers would continue their work in the near future.
He also stressed that Egypt will always support the choices of the Libyan people and the role of Libyan institutions, in a way that would lead to the achievement of security, stability and unity in Libya, the departure of all foreign forces, mercenaries and foreign fighters from its territory and the preservation of its sovereignty and the capabilities of the brotherly Libyan people, in implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council and the outputs of the Paris and Berlin tracks.
Following the meeting between Saleh and Al-Mishri, the two men representing the poles of the conflicting Libyan parties issued a joint statement, in which they agreed that “the joint committee of the two chambers will refer the constitutional document leading to the elections that will resolve the crisis to the two chambers for approval in accordance with the rules of each council.”
The two sides also agreed to “draw up a clear and specific roadmap, which will announce at a later date the completion of all necessary measures to complete the electoral process, be it on foundations and laws, or on executive procedures and the unification of institutions.”
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya welcomed the move on Thursday and urged Libya’s political leaders to speed up agreement on full, final and time-bound arrangements to move the country towards elections in 2023.
In its statement, the UN mission said it took note of the joint statement issued by the heads of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State regarding their discussions in Cairo.
She added that she strongly urges the two houses to reach a full and final agreement soon, including on contentious issues, in order to complete the necessary steps for holding comprehensive national elections within a specific time frame.
In its statement, the mission reiterated “the duty of political leaders to show real and continuous commitment to achieving a lasting peace by building on previous agreements of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State, with the aim of resolving the political crisis by holding elections as soon as possible.”
