Mohamed Al-Dairi (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Foreign Minister Mohamed Al-Dairi is in Kuwait for the 42nd meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which opened today. Under the title “Joint vision to strengthen tolerance and reject terrorism,” the situation is Libya as well as that in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, will be one of the main topics.
Dairi flew in from Saudi Arabia where on Monday he had in talks in Jeddah with his Saudi counterpart, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, as well as with a number of other Saudi officials, including the Saudi ambassador to Libya, Mohammed Al-Ali, currently resident in Riyadh.
According to the Beida offices of the Libyan news agency LANA, the talks focussed on the current situation in Libya, problems for Libyans obtaining visas to perform Umrah and Haj this year because of the closure of the Saudi consulate in Tripoli, and ways to develop bilateral ties further.
Saudi Arabia has been a strong supporter of the government in Beida and of the House of Representatives. It is known to be particularly concerned about the presence of the Islamic State supporters in part of Libya.
Expressing thanks for Saudi support in an interview in the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat, published today, Dairi said that help from Gulf states had been discussed with Al-Jubeir and that there would probably be another meeting of Gulf countries shortly to look at ways to extend this further.
He also pointed out that although the presence of terrorists in Libya belonging to the Islamic State were a threat not just to it but to neighbours Tunisia and Egypt as well as other countries, the US was not working with his government and instead was linking the fight against terrorism in Libya to the formation of a new government of national unity.
By Libya herald reporter.
