Mohammed Ali Al Shamsi, the UAE Ambassador to Libya met with Abdoulaye Bathily, the UN Envoy and Head of the United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL).
In a tweet, the Emirati Embassy in Libya said that the meeting took place on Friday in Tunis, on the sidelines of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) meetings.
It added that views were exchanged on the latest UN initiative presented by Bathily.
In February, the UAE Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Mohamed Abushahab said that he supports Bathily’s proposal to establish a High-level steering panel for Libya.
During his speech at the Security Council’s Libya session, he said: “We hope that this proposal will achieve the goals and consensus sought by the Libyans. For these steps to succeed and translate into action on the ground, the international community must show collective support, free from geopolitical tension. It also requires full cooperation from the Libyan people.”
Abushahab stressed the need to consult and coordinate with the Libyans on Bathily’s proposal.
The UAE diplomat noted that Libya was only a few steps away from holding elections. “For reasons known to all, the date of the elections was postponed. Since then, the concerned parties have fallen into successive and endless rounds of consultations to reach an agreement on a constitutional basis. This has not only prolonged the process and made it repetitive, but it has also taken a turn which does not serve the national interest of the Libyan people. Therefore, we do not see a way out of this political impasse other than coming together and supporting Mr. Bathily’s efforts towards enabling Libyans to reach a Libyan-owned political settlement – one that is acceptable to the parties, leads to holding simultaneous Parliamentary and Presidential elections this year, and results in the establishment of a unified government.”
The UAE representative applauded the “important role played by neighbouring countries in bringing diverging views closer together, particularly the efforts of Egypt with the support of the UN Mission.”
Abushahab stressed the need to promote the “full, equal, and meaningful participation of Libyan women in all aspects of the political process, such as those related to the elections and next steps in this regard.”
