Libya’s new caretaker government will pay special attention to bilateral relations with Turkey during the new term, the country’s caretaker prime minister said in a statement on Thursday.
“Our ties with Turkey will be different. It is our economic partner and we support this partnership,” Abdul Hamid Dbeibah told a news conference in the capital Tripoli.
He also emphasized Libya’s commitment to the maritime agreement between Turkey and Libya in November 2019.
Dbeibah previously said that Libya would stand in solidarity with its “friend and ally” Turkey.
Dbeibah also stated that they presented a new cabinet list for the House of Representatives in Tobruk to gain confidence.
“The Libyan government is made up of technocrats and represents all the colors, tribes and regions of Libya,” he said.
Dbeibah did not reveal the names of the government list.
He added that the new government will work to resolve the vital crises that the Libyan people are currently experiencing.
Dbeibah, who will serve as interim prime minister until the December 24 election, is expected to form his cabinet by February 26.
In a major development, 74 members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) with rival political groups elected an interim government on 5 February after five days of UN-mediated talks in Switzerland. The move has ignited the hope of political stability.
Mohammad Younes Menfi was elected head of the interim government chairmanship. Dbeibah was elected Prime Minister. Mossa al-Koni and Abdullah Hussein al-Lafi were also elected as the other two members of the Presidency.
The LPDF was launched in Tunisia on 9 November to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis under the leadership of the UN Libya’s support mission. The forum represents the three main regions of Libya; Tripolitania (west), Barqa (east) and Fezzan (south).
The interim government will replace the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. GNA joined in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a military offensive launched by militias loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar.
The UN had recognized the Sarraj government, which was also supported by Turkey, as the country’s legitimate authority.
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