Panafrican News Agency

Inter-Libyan dialogue is positive precedent, says Moroccan FM

Bouznika, Morocco (PANA) - The Moroccan minister of foreign affairs, African cooperation and Moroccans living abroad, Nasser Bourita, Monday said the inter-Libyan dialogue was a positive precedent towards a solution to the crisis shaking the country.

He was speaking during the second round of the dialogue in Bouznika between the delegations of the Libyan High Council of State and the House of Parliament.

“At the beginning, no one could bet on the inter-Libyan dialogue as some already said it was a failure,” Bourita said in a news conference at the end of a session of talks, in the presence of members of the two delegations and the Representative of the United-Nations in Morocco.

He noted, however, that, thanks to the will of the two parties, their positive spirit and the support of the leaders of the two delegations, a significant step was achieved.

He added that such achievements inspired “admiration and pride” in the sense that they showed that the members of the two delegations had put the interest of their country first and were in search for a solution.

These elements have played key role in the achievement of such progress," he said, and underlined the need to back and preserve "this positive dynamic’’ established by the inter-Libyan dialogue.

He acknowledged that this was a good sign, adding that it expressed the role of the international support and the encouragement it received from countries, regional and international organisations.

In that respect, Bourita said the inter-Libyan dialogue raised positive echo among Libyans, who saw in it a ‘brain of hope and optimism’.

He also highlighted the role of parties who led the dialogue in a constructive and positive way from the beginning. They included the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and its chief, Stephanie Williams who "carries out permanent monitoring just like she encourages the dialogue she considers as turning point in the deadlock recorded in the Libyan dossier".

 Additionally, he reiterated Morocco’s position to the inter-Libyan dialogue, saying “the high instructions given by King Mohamed VI have always been clear concerning the Libyan dossier, particularly with regard to the dialogue”.

This “consists in fully supporting your efforts, be next to you and mobilize to succeed in your dialogue without foreign interference, influence or pressure, but more further by protecting this dialogue against any negative interference breaching its positive spirit”, he told the two delegations.

"Morocco, which is working under the aegis of the United-Nations, prefers backing the inter-Libyan dialogue rather than those around Libya, the first being fundamental and the second complementary," said Bourita who estimated that the inter-Libyan dialogue of Bouznika was entire part of the action taken by the United-Nations to move for a solution to the Libyan crisis.

He told the members of the two Libyan delegations that "the confidence in your patriotic spirit will enable to overcome all difficulties you can have (…) and you are about to conclude historic accord on all details of Article 15 of the Skhirat deal we hope it will be signed very soon and which will be a fundamental basis to unify the Libyan institutions".

The important progress achieved gave rise to expectations among Libyans and the international community, especially in this difficult context marked by the crisis of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and delicate socio-economic situation facing Libyans.0

The president of the Libyan House of Representatives, Youssef El Akkouri, expressed his gratitude to Morocco for its continued support for ‘peace, concord, stability and safety in Libya’.

The chairman of the delegation of the Libyan High Council of State, Fawzi Al-Agab, lauded the Libyan peace talks, which led to the achievement of significant progress on the criteria of choice for the beneficiaries of government positions.

The chairmen of the two delegations thanked the United-Nations for their efforts to end the Libyan crisis. The sessions of the second round of the inter-Libyan peace talks continue since Saturday in Bouznika between the delegation of the Libyan High Council of State chaired by Al-Agab and that of the House of Representatives chaired by Youssef El Akkouri.

The two delegations Friday evening resumed the second round of talks, which came about a month after a first round that brought together the two parties (10 September) in Bouznika and which ended with a global deal on the criteria and transparent mechanisms and objectives to occupy government positions.

In the final communiqué issued at the end of the proceedings of the first round, the two parties agreed to carry on the dialogue and resume their meetings to complete the measures necessary to guarantee the application and activation of the agreement.

The two underlined the need to hold the meetings in accordance with Article 15 of the Libyan political agreement concluded in Skhirat in December 2015 and in confirmation of the conclusions of the Berlin Conference backing the political solution.

 

-0-    PANA     AT/IN/IS/MSA/RA     5Oct2020