Egypt and the Arab League (AL) welcomed the appointment of Abdullah Bathily as the new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Monday.
The two parties’ statements wished Bathily success in his mission to achieve a breakthrough and solve the challenges facing Libya based on the relevant Security Council resolutions and international references.
On this occasion, Egypt reiterated its support for the efforts of the UN to reach a Libyan political solution leading to an end to the political crisis and the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously as soon as possible.
It also called for the exit of all foreign forces, mercenaries, and foreign fighters from Libya within a specified time frame in order to preserve Libya’s stability, security, unity and territorial integrity.
Furthermore, Egypt expressed its full readiness to work with the new Special Representative to Libya and support him in order to lead international efforts towards resolving the crisis in Libya in accordance with a pure Libyan will that fulfils the aspirations of the brotherly Libyan people.
For its part, the AL called on all Libyan parties to cooperate with Bathily and support his mission, expressing confidence in him to continue the efforts undertaken by the UN to get Libya out of the political impasse it is going through.
It stressed that the development of an agreed constitutional and legal base on which the expected national elections will be held has become an urgent requirement for many Libyans to renew the legitimacy of Libyan institutions.
Additionally Secretary-General of the AL Ahmed Aboul-Gheit expressed his aspiration that the next phase will witness more cooperation and coordination between the AL and the UN in order to support efforts seeking to resolve the current political crisis and move forward with holding the elections in the interest of the Libyan people.
