Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba will participate at Friday’s Paris Conference on Libya, according to government Spokesman, Mohamed Hamouda.
Hamouda pointed out that among the most pressing issues to be raised at the conference are the elections, support for the political track, and the withdrawal of mercenaries. “Libya will participate at the conference as one of the organising countries, not only as an invited party,” Hamouda said.
The conference will be chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi confirming their attendance at the conference. The countries neighbouring Libya have also been invited to participate.
Mohamed Al-Minfi, Head of Libya’s Presidential Council, is reportedly headed for Paris to take part in the international conference.
The summit comes ahead of planned Presidential and Parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for 24 December. This is part of the political roadmap agreed to in the United Nations-led peace process.
On Wednesday, the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister, Marina Sereni confirmed that the Paris Conference on Libya will be held under joint Italian-German-French presidency. This is to emphasize support for the electoral process, and the need for a comprehensive intra-Libyan solution to the current crisis.
She revealed during a hearing before the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, that the international conference aims to reiterate the necessity of holding the Libyan elections, which are scheduled for 24 December.
Sereni added that the main goal of the summit is to ensure the holding of the Libyan elections on time, and begin the process of withdrawing mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya. This is in line with the Action Plan recently approved by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC).
Libya’s High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) opened the registration for the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections in December. The elections are seen as an essential step toward normalcy, after nearly a decade of war affecting the country.