The Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to hold bilateral talks with his counterpart, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, on the country’s upcoming elections and possible cooperation opportunities in different fields.
During the talks, Bin Zayed emphasized that his country is ready to offer all kinds of support, especially with regards to the 24 December general elections. Menfi, on the other hand, stated that the relations between the two countries should be developed in accordance with the interests of both countries, and underlined the importance of efforts to maintain peace and stability in Libya.
As part of the Gulf tour in April, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh had visited the UAE and met with Crown Prince Bin Zayed. After these meetings, Menfi also visited the UAE for the first time since he took office as the head of the Presidential Council.
The UAE has been considered as the financing power behind the attacks of the self-declared Libyan National Army’s (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar against the UN-recognized government in the past. Especially in the 2019 Tripoli attack, many international sources have revealed documents confirming this relationship.
After the formation of new administrative cadres in Libya and the support of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) by the international community, the UAE also announced that it welcomed the new administration positively. This visit by Menfi, especially at a time when debates on foreign mercenaries have become intense, shows that the UAE continues to be an important non-regional actor in terms of national reconciliation and political solution.
