Greek FM, Head of Libya's Presidential Council to Pay Reciprocal Visits Next Week

BENGHAZI (Sputnik) - Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will visit Libyan Benghazi as part of a Greek delegation to hold talks with the deputy prime minister in the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Hussein Qatrani, a source in the GNU told Sputnik.

"A delegation of the Greek government will visit Benghazi in eastern Libya tomorrow and hold talks with the deputy head of the Government of National Unity, Hussein Qatrani ... the delegation will include the minister of foreign affairs, the first aide to the president and the Greek ambassador to Libya", the source said.

According to the source, the Greek delegation will discuss bilateral relations with Qatrani and announce the opening of a consular department of Greece in Benghazi.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias

© AFP 2023 / PETROS KARADJIAS

On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accompanied by Dendias, visited the Libyan capital of Tripoli. During the visit, he proposed to the Libyan side to sign an agreement with Athens on maritime zones. Prior to the visit, the Greek embassy resumed work in the North African country.

Libyan Presidential Council Head Plans to Visit Greece on Tuesday

Libyan Presidential Council head Mohammad Younes Menfi plans to pay an official visit to Greece on Tuesday at the invitation of Athens, a source in the Presidential Council told Sputnik on Sunday.

"Libyan Presidential Council head Mohammad Menfi will visit Greece for the first time in his new position at the official invitation", the source said.

According to the source, Menfi will discuss the bilateral relations with the Greek authorities.

Mohammad Younes Menfi

© AP Photo / Thibault Camus

Since the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been split between two rival governments. The administrations known as the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) have been in control of the country's west and east, respectively.

In February, the Swiss-hosted Libya Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) elected an interim caretaker unity authority to take charge until a national general election scheduled for 24 December. The LPDF picked Mohammad Younes Menfi, a former GNA ambassador in Greece, as the new head of the Presidential Council, while Mossa Al-Koni, a representative of Libya's south, and Abdullah Hussein Al-Lafi, a representative of the west, became his deputies. Abdul Hamid Dbeibah was elected prime minister.