Berlin to host 2nd Libya conference on June 23

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany is to host the second Berlin conference on Libya later this month, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and UN Secretary-General António Guterres have invited the participating states and regional organizations of the Berlin Process to the conference, which will take place on 23 June at the German Foreign Ministry.

This will be the first time that the Libyan transitional Government of National Unity is represented at such an event.

The main agenda of the conference will be finding ways to support the Libyan government in holding elections slated for Dec. 24 and on conducting the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya as agreed in the first Berlin Libya conference, Maas told journalists in Berlin.

Furthermore, steps towards the creation of unified Libyan security forces will be discussed, according to the Foreign Ministry statement.

Berlin hosted the first conference on Libya on Jan. 19.

In February, a UN-led Libya forum voted on an interim government, choosing Mohammed al-Menfi as presidency council head and Abdulhamid Dbeibeh as prime minister.

Libyans hope the new unity government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.