Libya seeks Qatari support for stability initiative at next week's Berlin conference

By Muhammed Artema

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Libya’s foreign minister on Wednesday expressed hope that Qatar will support her country's stability initiative, set to be presented at the second Berlin meeting next week.

Najla Mangoush made the remarks in a meeting with her Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on the sidelines of an Arab League meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, according to a statement by the Libyan Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that Mangoush "expressed hope for Qatar's support for the Libya stability initiative, which will be presented at the Berlin 2 meeting."

The statement quoted Al Thani affirming his country's "position in support of Libya's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and stability."

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

The second conference is scheduled to be held on June 23, with the main focus on general elections scheduled to be held later this year and the removal of foreign forces from the war-weary country.

In February, a UN-led Libya forum voted on an interim government, choosing Mohammed al-Menfi as head of the Presidential Council 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.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat