LibyaPolitics

Why did Egypt return in full focused to the Libyan complicated file?

Recently, Egyptian efforts have emerged to find a solution to the crisis afflicting its western neighbor, Libya, and to reach political stability in a country where chaos has prevailed since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Although the Egyptian role was not absent from Libya, Cairo recently took public and secret steps to settle differences and end the state of competition between Libyan political forces, for reasons mostly related to the issue of Egyptian national security and Cairo’s share of reconstruction contracts in Libya.

This role is evident in President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s meeting with the Head of Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, at the end of last March. Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said that the meeting dealt with all issues that support Libya’s stability, within the framework of Egypt’s efforts to support Libyan institutions in carrying out their responsibilities.

Former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Salah Halima confirmed in an interview with Al-Monitor that Egypt’s interest lies in finding a consensus among the Libyan parties to ensure the success of the political process and conduct fair elections that fulfill the will of the Libyan voters, while Professor of Political Science at Cairo University Hassan Nafeh said that this meeting comes within the framework of Egyptian efforts to open channels of communication with all parties to the Libyan crisis to help them reach a comprehensive and sustainable settlement that preserves Egyptian interests at the same time.

The journalist and researcher specializing in Libyan affairs, Abdel Sattar Hatita, attributed Cairo’s support for the decisions of the House of Representatives to its keenness to establish stability in all of Libya, despite the difficulties facing the process of pushing towards stability, which he represented in the unity government headed by Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, who rejects the authority, revealing that Menfi declared his readiness to act as a mediator to reach satisfactory solutions both internally and externally.

Hatita considered that the outbreak of any armed clash will affect the Egyptian national security, and therefore Cairo seeks to prevent this from happening, especially as it may mean the return of the threat of extremism to Libya in the adjacent eastern region, which Egypt won’t accept.

In an interview with the website, the Head of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Mohammed Al-Sharif, referred to the continuation of consultations between Egypt and Libya, especially since Cairo hosted many meetings related to the Libyan issue, including the June 2020 initiative, most of its clauses included in the international proposals for Libya because it showed Egypt’s openness to all parties in Libya, as well as its ability to bring Libyans together.

Al-Sharif accused the Prime Minister of the Unity Government of carrying out foreign plans aimed at prolonging and complicating the Libyan crisis in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood Group and some armed formations. Therefore, he refuses to hand over power.

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