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Denver – During a visit to Tunisia, Vice-President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Abdullah Al-Lafi, praised King Mohammed VI’s ongoing efforts to facilitate peace talks in Libya’s ongoing conflict.
Al-Lafi specifically noted King Mohammed VI’s “support for the project of consensus among all Libyan parties since 2014, which culminated in the signing of the Skhirat Agreement and the formation of a presidential council.”
He also spoke of Morocco’s “positive role” in Libya’s seven-year mission to establish a stable government following the fall of Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011.
After Ghaddafi’s death, a brief period of limited fighting escalated into a second civil war between several factions that devastated the North African nation for a decade.
In 2015, several of the conflicting Libyan factions attended a Moroccan-hosted forum in the city of Skhirat that laid the groundwork for further peace talks between the rival groups.
During an interview at the end of his Tunisian visit, Al-Lafi stressed Morocco’s critical confidence-building efforts in the Libyan peace talks. “
Morocco contributed to the meeting and gathering of the House of Representatives and the members who were present, at one table, in Tangier, which had a positive impact” on later negotiations, he said.
Al-Lafi pointed out that the 2015 Skhirat meeting was essential in bringing Libya’s factions to the negotiating table and establishing the Government of National Unity (GNU). The GNU, formed earlier this year, is the currently internationally-recognized authority in Libya.
Al-Lafi described a Libyan conflict-focused meeting in August with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita as “very positive.”
Among the priorities of the Presidential Council, Al-Lafi stated the organization was working towards appointing members to the High National Reconciliation Commission. He also announced a national charter would be presented at an upcoming meeting of the Reconciliation Commission.
Despite differences in the priorities in the various factions ruling various portions of the country, Al-Lafi spoke with optimism about the current political situation ahead of next month’s general elections.
He emphasized the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission and the Presidential Council were both working to ensure the establishment of a mutually agreed charter to address military and political differences, and hopefully bring much-needed peace to the North African country.
