Rabat – Aguila Saleh, the president of the Libyan parliament, and president of the Libyan High Council of State Khaled Mechri are on a visit to Morocco to further discuss their country’s stagnating political dialogue.
Moroccan outlet Le360 quoted sources from the government as saying that the two officials arrived in Morocco on Saturday.
Aguila Saleh and Khaled Mechri are expected to hold a series of consultations with senior officials in Morocco regarding the Libyan peace process.
But it is unclear whether the two officials, who represent rival groups with diverging ideas about the way forward for Libya, will meet with Moroccan facilitators around the same table, Le360 quoted its government sources as adding.
Libyan officials have in recent months and years frequently emphasized Morocco’s pivotal role in finding a political solution to the Libyan crisis.
As part of its “inter-Libyan” mediation efforts, Morocco has repeatedly received Libyan officials from rival factions for consultations about the way out of the decades-long, post-Gaddafi quagmire in Libya.
During the Paris Conference on Libya in November, Morocco renewed its commitment to helping leaders of rival Libyan factions engage in dialogue and find a common ground to end their country’s and fellow Libyans’ prolonged suffering.
At the conference, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita renewed the North African country’s determination to support all efforts aimed at bringing Libya’s rival groups to agree to a lasting political solution to the decade-long conflict.
Bourita also reaffirmed Morocco’s opposition to foreign interference, emphasizing that only intra-Libyan dialogue can help lay the groundwork for a sustainable political solution to the conflict.
Morocco has hosted several roundtable talks convening Libyan fractions to discuss ways of arriving at mutually acceptable solutions. The most recent such meetings took place in the cities of Tangier and Bouznika.
In recognition of Morocco’s mediation efforts in the Libyan crisis, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Joey Hood, said in July: “We appreciate Morocco’s continuous support for the UN’s efforts in Libya, and its support for removing foreign forces from Libya and for preparation for successful nationwide elections there.”
Beyond the US government, Morocco’s front-row role in the Libyan peace process has attracted international headlines, with the UN envoy for Libya also hailing the North African country for its efforts to end Libya’s crisis.
