Türkiye’s Benghazi Consulate General will reopen if the conditions are right, Tripoli Ambassador Kenan Yılmaz said on Wednesday.
Ambassador Yılmaz evaluated the relations between Türkiye and Libya in Ankara, where he attended the 13th Ambassadors Conference. The Ambassador said that is an important opportunity for developing relations between Türkiye and Libya in every area.
Yılmaz emphasized that there is a strong bond between Türkiye and Libya: "Our efforts to improve our relations with Libya continue. We hope Libya will get over this unstable period as soon as possible. Therefore, we advise resolving political conflicts, achieving reconciliation, and holding elections."
Yılmaz also talked about the future relations between Türkiye and Libya. "There are important opportunities for the development of our relations with Libya. We believe that we can develop them based on our historical ties. I think that with the new government of the country, our relations will improve in all areas such as trade, economy, culture, health, and security."
He reminded that the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, visited Ankara at the beginning of this month at the invitation of the Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop and was hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Yılmaz pointed out that important steps were taken to improve the relations between the countries' parliaments.
Yılmaz stated that the issues that came to the fore were the resumption of unfinished projects by Turkish companies in the past, the production of new projects, the reopening of the currently closed Consulate General of Türkiye in Benghazi, and the resumption of Turkish Airlines (THY) flights between Benghazi and Istanbul.
"Important steps have been taken in line with these goals. We expect more positive steps to be taken in the coming period. If the conditions in the region allow, we will reopen our Consulate General in Benghazi. Local airline companies in Libya have started flights between Benghazi and Istanbul since May."
"Turkish companies are known as reliable companies in Libya"
He touched upon the trade between Türkiye and Libya, he said that last year, Türkiye's exports to Libya were around $3 billion (TL 53.7 billion), and the bilateral trade volume was $4.5 billion.
Considering Libya's geostrategic location, Yılmaz said that there are significant opportunities to expand to other African countries in the future. "Turkish companies are recognized as reliable companies in Libya. We continue to encourage them to come and operate there," he said.
He pointed out that Libya was the first country where Türkiye operated abroad in the field of contracting and because of this, Libya has very special importance for the Turkish contracting sector.
He stated that some of the projects carried out by Turkish companies were left unfinished due to the developments in Libya in the last 11 years.
"In recent contacts with the Libyan National Unity Government, positive steps have been taken for our companies to return to their unfinished projects. However, the projects given priority by the Libyan authorities were handled at the first stage. On this occasion, they invited a group of our companies in the last quarter of 2021. They talked to the administrations and there are companies that have decided to continue their projects. We encourage them. The Libyan authorities maintain their expectations in the coming period. We also encourage our business people to continue their unfinished projects," he said.
Ambassador Yılmaz noted that Aug. 9 was the 82nd anniversary of the establishment of the Libyan Armed Forces and congratulated them. He added that they support the recent positive steps to unite the armed forces between the two regions of Libya.
Türkiye and Libya have seen closer ties in recent years, especially after the signing of security and maritime boundary pacts in November 2019, along with Türkiye’s aid to help the legitimate Libyan government push back the putschist Haftar’s forces.
In the recent Libyan crisis, Türkiye supported the U.N.-recognized legitimate government in Tripoli against the eastern-based illegitimate forces led by Haftar, who was backed by Egypt, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia. Türkiye’s support for the Tripoli government was critical to repel the Haftar forces’ offensive to capture the capital Tripoli and led to a period of stability resulting in the formation of the unity government.
Once again, two competing governments are vying for control in Libya, already torn by more than a decade of civil war.
Libya has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by rogue militias and foreign governments. The Mediterranean nation has been in a state of upheaval since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
But a plan had emerged in the past two years that was meant to put the country on the path toward elections. A U.N.-brokered process installed an interim government in early 2021 to shepherd Libyans to elections that were due late last year.
That government, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, briefly unified the political factions under heavy international pressure. But the voting never took place, and since then, the plan has unraveled and left the country in crisis.
Lawmakers in Libya's east-based parliament, headed by influential speaker Aguila Saleh, argued that Dbeibah’s mandate ended when the interim government failed to hold elections.
They chose Bashagha, an influential former interior minister from the western city of Misrata, as the new prime minister. Their position gained the endorsement of Haftar whose forces control the country's east and most of the south, including major oil facilities.
Dbeibah has refused to step down and factions allied with him in western Libya deeply oppose Haftar. They maintain that Dbeibah, who is also from Misrata with ties to its powerful militias, is working toward holding elections.