Rabat – Libya welcomed yesterday a Moroccan delegation, as a first step towards reopening the Moroccan consulate in Libya.
Headed by the president of the Maghreb Union Affairs, the delegation included high-profile officials from Morocco’s foreign affairs ministry, Libya’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Khalifa El Kayd from Libya’s foreign ministry and international cooperation welcomed the Moroccan delegation.
The visit paves the way for the reopening of the Moroccan consulate in Tripoli eight years after it was closed. With Morocco’s diplomatic mission resuming its responsibilities in Libya, the process of acquiring visas for Libyan citizens coming to Morocco will become much easier, noted the ministry’s statement.
As part of the two countries’ efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Najla Elmangoush, arrived in Rabat in June of 2021 to meet with Moroccan counterpart Nacer Bourita to discuss deepening bilateral ties.
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The two North African countries had previously set up a committee to facilitate citizens’ mobility.
Chaired by the Libyan Foreign Affairs Official Morad Ahmima, the “Joint Libyan-Moroccan Consulate” held its first meeting in late 2021. The meeting tackled various issues relating to facilitating the process of issuing visas for Libyan students and their families, as well as issuing residency permits for Libyan citizens in Morocco.
The meeting also extended visa-issuing for Libyan businessmen/women, investors, and tourists. In addition, the meeting discussed ways to facilitate the resuming of flights between the two countries.
Morocco strongly supports the UN-led political process in Libya and was instrumental in the latest UN-brokered ceasefire that appears to have brought opposing Libyan parties back to the negotiating table.
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