CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed that Egypt will remain firmly involved in Libyan affairs in order to establish peace and stability there.
He spoke during a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in Cairo, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Shoukry reiterated that Egypt has made great efforts to sponsor the peace process and ceasefire in Libya. The minister said that a delegation has been sent to the Libyan capital in order to conduct political consultations with the new Libyan leadership and discuss opportunities to resume the work of the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli and the Egyptian consulate in Benghazi.
Shoukry stressed that Cairo is cooperating with other countries to preserve the unity of Libya and to hold elections by the end of the year, adding that there would also be cooperation with the UN envoy to ensure a solution to the Libyan crisis.
A high-level Libyan delegation arrived from Tripoli to Cairo on Thursday. The delegation discussed the recent developments after the Libyan national dialogue round in Switzerland.
Egyptian Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mohammed Shaker received the Libyan delegation, which included eight senior Libyan officials, to meet with senior Egyptian officials.
Egypt intends to reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli for the first time in six years, in a shift toward a more conciliatory approach with western Libyan factions.
This comes amid preparations to form a new transitional government in the latest efforts by the UN to unify the two rival camps in the east and west of the country.
