US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Berlin on Wednesday to attend the Second Berlin Conference on Libya, where he’ll meet with Libyan and other foreign leaders.
Germany and the UN are bringing together Libyan representatives and powers that have interests in the North African nation. The conference aims to secure elections and remove foreign fighters.
The meeting at the foreign ministry in Berlin follows up on a January 2020 conference where leaders agreed to respect an arms embargo and push the country’s warring parties to reach a full ceasefire. Germany is acting as an intermediary.
Countries that have been involved in the process include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the UAE, Italy and Turkey.
Before the conference, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas noted that much has been achieved in the past two years.
An October ceasefire agreement that included a demand that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days led to a deal on elections that are due to be held on December 24 and a transitional government that took office in February.
But “many challenges still lie ahead of us,” said Mr Maas, who met Libya’s transitional prime minister and foreign minister on Tuesday.
“For the further stabilisation of the country, it is crucial that elections take place as planned and that foreign fighters and mercenaries really do leave Libya.”
He added that Wednesday’s conference launches a new phase “in which we no longer only talk about Libya, but in which we are now speaking with Libyan men and women about the future of their country”.
