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Madrid hosts a Ministerial Conference on Stability and Development in Libya

Twenty-one states and International Organizations meet on September 17

September 16, 2014

MADRID

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation organized a conference on Stability and Development in Libya on Wednesday, September 17, at which twenty-one States and international organizations discussed the serious situation which this Mediterranean country is enduring.

The Conference is based on the need to create further momentum in the international efforts aimed at seeking Libya’s stability and getting the role-players in the conflict to shift from a dynamic of armed confrontation to one of negotiation and dialogue. The situation in the country grew worse as of July 13, when the standoffs between different militias led to the closure of the airport in Tripoli and caused the evacuation of many foreign nationals and diplomatic missions.

Because of the undoubted economic and security-related repercussions in the region, this crisis is making it essential for the nearest countries, and therefore those most affected, to increase their coordination.

With a view to this objective, Spain called this meeting in order to reaffirm the participants’ support for the Libyan people in their political transition, to emphasize the leadership of the United Nations through its special representative, Bernardino León, to seek an immediate ceasefire and initiate a national dialogue, and to forge consensus amongst the countries in the region about the challenges faced by Libya.

The conference will bring together the countries closest to Libya, which belong to at least one of the following initiatives: the 5+5 Dialogue (Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Portugal; Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia), the Med 7 Group (Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece) and Libya’s neighboring countries (Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia). As for the international organizations attending the event, they were represented by the Arab League, the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean.

Further information: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation