Tunis: Tunisian Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti, along with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelaaty and Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf, and in the presence of Hanna Tetteh, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Libya, held a meeting Monday to discuss the latest developments in Libya and ways to advance a comprehensive political settlement that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people for security and stability.
According to Qatar News Agency, the positions of Libya's immediate neighbors were coordinated regarding developments in the Libyan situation. In a joint statement, the ministers reaffirmed that the supreme interest of Libya and the Libyan people is the ultimate goal of this tripartite process, which supports and reinforces all regional and international efforts aimed at achieving the aspirations of the Libyan people for a comprehensive political settlement that guarantees the unity of Libyan territory and preserves their national resources.
They also affirmed that the purely Libyan ownership of the political process in Libya is a fundamental and inviolable principle, and that the solution must be Libyan-led, without excluding any party. The ultimate goal remains building a unified state with all its components and stable institutions that achieve security, development, and prosperity, and safeguard the resources of the Libyan people.
They called on all Libyan parties to prioritize dialogue, overcome divisions, and move forward towards unifying all Libyan military and security institutions, and to support the work of the Joint Military Committee. The ministers also called for intensified efforts to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, enabling an end to the division and the unification of institutions to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the Libyan people.
They stressed the need to keep Libya free from regional and international rivalries and to reject all foreign interference in Libyan internal affairs, thus allowing for the formulation and ratification of internal agreements without guardianship or imposition. The ministers also stressed that Libya's security and stability are an integral part of Arab security and the security and stability of the Sahel and Sahara region.
This necessitates giving due importance to this interconnectedness through intensified consultation and coordination within a comprehensive and integrated vision that protects Libya and the countries of the region from existing risks and threats. They emphasized the importance of establishing a comprehensive action plan for a Libyan-led political solution under the auspices of the United Nations, with specific timelines and encompassing all the practical foundational steps sought by the Libyan people.