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Rabat – On July 27, Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sabri Boukadoum, reached out to his Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Taher Siala, on a telephone call to discuss the crisis in Libya.
The Libyan Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Monday that Siala and Boukadoum discussed coordination and mechanisms for the return of the political process, as well as Algiers’ role on the file.
Consultations also touched on some other issues, such as combating the spread of COVID-19.
Boukadoum’s call came amid the visit of a high-level delegation from Libya. The Libyan delegation arrived in Morocco on Sunday, seeking talks and consultations with their Moroccan counterparts.
In discussions, all parties stressed the importance of the Skhirat Agreement as the basis to end the conflict over Libya, although they indicated intentions to update the agreement.
The Algerian government has been seeking to safeguard ground in the Libyan political scene for months, touting mediation.
Vows to play a role in Libya came in the aftermath of internal issues in Algeria related to the popular movement. The circumstances of the internal strife are still developing.
Algeria is facing severe challenges due to restrictive COVID-19 measures and their economic fallout, especially as an oil-dependent economy.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently reversed his resistance to considering foreign loans. Algeria’s need escalated after the oil market hit an all-time low.
International Crisis Group said the lockdown measures and economic difficulties could “risk radicalizing the Hirak protest movement.”
Persistence amid crisis
Despite ongoing internal difficulties, Boukadoum said earlier this month that his country maintains good relations with all Libyan sides.
“We don’t want to separate [the Libyans] or take any position that might jeopardize the territorial integrity, the future, peace and unity of Libya,” Algeria’s foreign minister said.
The language and vows are similar to Morocco’s mediation initiatives. The Moroccan government has trust in the 2015 Skhirat Agreement to work as a basis to end the crisis in Libya. However, both Moroccan and Libyan officials indicated in talks during the high-level delegation’s visit a need to update the agreement.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, stressed that the Skhirat Agreement was a “Libyan product,” and Libyans can now “amend and improve it in order to adapt it to the transitional state and ensure the security and stability of that country.”
Bourita commended the visit to Morocco of the speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa, and the presence of the Head of the Libyan High Council of State, Khalid Al Mishri.
He said the visit reflects a “strong signal to move towards what is better and more influential on the Libyan path.”
Bourita is optimistic about the future of the crisis. He said that if the High Council of State and the Parliament of Libya work in the same direction, they will be able to “find appropriate solutions to the institutional problems related to sovereign institutions and to resolve them as soon as possible.”
He also confirmed that Morocco has no agenda in the crisis, vowing to continue to propose dialogue between all the parties to the conflict.
