Egypt and Libya: beyond diplomacy

The Director General of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, has visited Tripoli and Benghazi to meet with the commander of the Libyan army, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and later with the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, and the President of the Presidential Council, Muhammad Al-Manf.

The Egyptian visit is aimed at mediating between the two sides and appealing for concord between the two leaders to promote peace and cooperation. The strong and good relationship between the two states stems from Egypt's assistance to Libya in mediating and fostering a ceasefire in the civil war, as well as promoting stability in the country by cooperating on counter-terrorism policies. 

According to Al-Ain News, the visit took place in an atmosphere in which security coordination between the two countries was encouraged. Libya has praised the mediating and reconciliatory role played by Egypt.

After both meetings, and according to the communiqués issued by the Interior Ministry, the main key diplomatic issues discussed revolved around anti-terrorism policies, increased technological and information support, and support for reconstruction and stabilisation.

In approving new counter-terrorism policies, Libyan House of Representatives member Saeed Mugheeb says that Kamel's arrival is an opportunity to discuss and implement measures on disbanding terrorist militias from Turkey and establishing the necessary policies to approve the departure of foreign mercenaries. In the same vein, he says that both countries "continue to work to secure the southern borders against terrorist movements". 

Likewise, Libyan military and security analyst Mohammed Al-Tarhouni affirmed that Egypt is cooperating to strengthen and assist in the fight against terrorism with the Libyan parties in order to continue to maintain its supporting role. Thus, the visit was along the lines of support for the 5+5 Military Committee, the ceasefire agreement and the unification of the military establishment.

In this sense, al-Tarhouni highlighted Egypt's role as a mediator in defining the Sirte-Jufra red line and in laying the first foundations for agreeing the ceasefire and assisting in the subsequent formation of a unified government.

The analyst pointed out that Cairo wants to coordinate with the Libyan authorities to increase the international presence in order to proceed with the expulsion of the mercenaries in the area, as Egypt and Turkey had agreed in previous talks. 

On the other hand, Arab affairs specialist Dr Hamed Faris told Al-Ain that this visit is "a clear message from the Egyptian political leadership about absolute support for the Libyan state" as well as "support for the Libyan people and their government" to try to "overcome this delicate stage and achieve their aspirations to hold elections on schedule".

For Egypt, the Turkish incursion is "a violation of its security and Libya's national security, which is why Turkey is striving to defeat any attempt to resolve disputes, renounce conflicts and defuse the war," said the coordinator of the Political Science Department at Omar al-Mukhtar University, Al-Farsi. 

On the economic front, the candidate for the post of governor of the Central Bank, Anwar Yassin Rajab, declared that "Abbas Kamel's visit is an advanced step that will have very positive effects in supporting Libya's stability". Alongside this, Rajab stressed the importance of activating "jointly" the technical committee between Libya and Egypt in order to "enhance cooperation in all fields and invest the positive role of the Arab Republic of Egypt in promoting national reconciliation between the Libyan parties". 

With this kind of support and the intense diplomatic exercise that Egypt is carrying out in the region, the Arab country is establishing itself as a key state. Following its accelerated diplomatic activity in the region, Egypt aims to regain its influence in the Middle East and establish itself as a powerful and influential country.

Libya has not been the only country in which Egypt has intervened diplomatically to broker a ceasefire. In the latest escalation of tension between Israel and Hamas, Egypt intervened to lay the groundwork for an armistice. Similarly, the country is leading the reconstruction of Gaza through a plan focused on rehabilitating infrastructure destroyed by the bombing.