Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met this morning with the Chairman of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi.
The Prime Minister and the head of the Libyan Presidential Council agreed to promptly resume talks between Greece and Libya on the delimitation of maritime zones, within the purview of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.
They also discussed the prospect to broaden economic ties, which will be the focal point of the forthcoming visit to Libya by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kostas Fragogiannis. The two leaders also discussed cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture.
The meeting was attended by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Government Spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni and the Director of the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Bureau, Ambassador Eleni Sourani.
At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister said:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Mr Chairman, welcome to Athens. Let me start by wishing you Ramadan Kareem for the start of Ramadan. I am really glad that we have the chance to meet only a few days after my visit to Libya, to reaffirm that Greek-Libyan relations, after some stretches with difficulties, are now at the start of a very fertile and productive period.
I want you to know that Greece will stand by your side and the Libyan people in the difficult task you have to reconstruct your country; to lead Libya to elections at the end of the year so that its citizens can take charge of their country’s destinies. As we had the chance to talk about during my visit, a necessary precondition for this is the withdrawal of all troops from Libya.
I welcome your and the Libyan Prime Minister’s intention that your country discusses crucial issues with Greece, such as the delimitation of maritime zones.
Greece -and let me finish on this note- is a friend of Libya; the Greek people are friends of the Libyan people. Our relations go back centuries. And I want you to know that Greece will always be Libya’s steadfast friend and ally within the European Union, so that your beautiful country, which has been through so much, may once again find its path towards stability and prosperity.
Welcome to Athens, welcome to Greece, a country that I know you love very much.
