Following the visit of Fathi Bashagha, the Minister of the Interior of the Government of National Accord, to the French capital, Paris; a report by the “Libya Herald” website revealed that it was agreed with the “Airbus” company that Libya will soon receive 10 modern and fully equipped helicopters.
The report said that these aircraft will be used for the purposes of combating organized crime, terrorist groups, search and rescue, border and coast monitoring, human smuggling lines, and civilian safety, but no confirmation of this news has been issued by the Ministry of Interior of the GNA.
According to a report by the British newspaper “The Guardian” about the series of interviews conducted by “Bashagha”; Bashagha’s closeness to Paris is part of his public relations campaign to grant him the position of Prime Minister, and his name is currently under discussion in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.
Bashagha’s visit to France began last Wednesday, and it included meetings with a number of security and political leaders, where he met with French Defense Minister Florence Parly, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan.
On November 9, the Libyan African Aviation Holding Company reported that Airbus had agreed to renegotiate the delivery contracts for Libyan aircraft, as it accepted in principle to change the type and number of aircraft that would be delivered, saying that the smaller models better meet the requirements of Libyan market and serve the interests of the Libyan people more.
It is noteworthy that the announcement of this visit comes a day after “Bashagha” met the ambassador of the European Union to Libya, Jose Sabadell, in Tripoli; to discuss security cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and organized crime, in addition to discussing the subject of training programs that the European Union can offer to the Ministry of the Interior.
