Libyan Government of National Unity and Somalia sign memoranda of cooperation
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Government of National Unity has signed a number of memoranda of cooperation with Somalia as part of the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The memo also covers a joint cooperation on regional issues, including the mutual exemption of entry visas for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports.
These agreements were initialled on Monday in Tripoli during the reception by the Libyan Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Al-Dbaiba, and the President of the Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, who is on an official visit to Libya, according to a statement published on the government platform ‘Hakomitna’.
The agreement between the two countries also covered the mutual exemption of entry visas for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports, in addition to a political consultation agreement between the two countries' foreign ministries to strengthen diplomatic coordination on issues of common interest, the same source said.
A memorandum of cooperation was also signed between the municipality of Tripoli and the municipality of Mogadishu to support the partnership in the fields of local administration and urban development.
It was also agreed to form a high-level joint committee to review previous agreements, discuss Libyan investments in Somalia and strengthen economic and development cooperation between the two parties.
The two sides stressed the importance of joint coordination on regional issues, particularly in the Horn of Africa region, in light of the role Somalia will play after its election to the UN Security Council, in order to help support regional stability and security and strengthen cooperation between countries in the region.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Manfi, held a joint press conference with the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud.
In his speech, Mr. al-Manfi underlined the agreement to activate the joint commissions in a number of sectors and to resume the political consultation mechanism and the Supreme Joint Commission between the two countries.
He pointed out that relations with Somalia were solid and strong, assuring: “we are continuing to develop them bilaterally and in terms of our joint role at regional and international level”.
The Libyan official pointed out that Libya's cooperation with Somalia was not limited to what was signed today, but would include areas of investment and cooperation in the fields of training and education.
“We affirm our support for Somalia, the representative of the Arabs and the African Union on the Security Council this year, because it has proved that it is equal to the responsibility of defending the interests of our peoples and countries with the rest of our brothers in the African Group on the Security Council, which is (Algeria - Sierra Leone) in addition to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, which has joined the African Group to form the A3+ Group,” stressed the Chairman of the Libyan Council.
The Somali President arrived in Libya on Sunday evening, where he was received at Maitigua International Airport in the eastern suburbs of Tripoli by the interim Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Government of National Unity, al-Taher al-Baour.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/SOC/BBA/RA 25Feb2025
