TRIPOLI: The Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers met secretly in Italy last week, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday, in what it said was the first-ever meeting between the country’s top diplomats.
The meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Najla Mangoush, foreign minister of the Tripoli-based government, marked a small breakthrough for Israel’s government, whose hard-line policies toward the Palestinians have led to a cooling of its burgeoning ties with the Arab world.
“I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for relations between the two countries,” Cohen said in a statement. He said the meeting was hosted by Italy’s foreign minister in Rome.
Cohen said he discussed the importance of preserving the heritage of Libya’s former Jewish community, including renovating synagogues and cemeteries. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said talks also touched on possible Israeli assistance for humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management.
There was no immediate comment from Libya.
The late Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, was hostile to Israel and a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, including radical militant groups opposed to peace with Israel.
Libya was plunged into turmoil after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled Qaddafi, who was later killed, and left the country divided between rival governments in Benghazi in the east and Tripoli in the west. The United Nations has been struggling to shepherd the country toward new elections.
The Tripoli government is headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who is close to Italy and the West.
Then-President Donald Trump brokered a series of diplomatic agreements between Israel and four Arab countries known as the Abraham Accords.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been eager to expand ties with the Arab world, but his government has come under heavy criticism due to its support for West Bank settlement construction and ongoing military raids on suspected militant strongholds in the occupied territory.
Israel says FM met with Libyan counterpart in sign of burgeoning ties
https://arab.news/66rp2
Israel says FM met with Libyan counterpart in sign of burgeoning ties
- Cohen said he discussed importance of preserving heritage of Libya’s former Jewish community
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been eager to expand ties with the Arab world
Trump offers to mediate Egypt-Ethiopia dispute on Nile River waters
- Egypt says the dam violates international treaties and could cause both droughts and flooding, a claim Ethiopia rejects
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump offered on Friday to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia. “I am ready to restart US mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of ‘The Nile Water Sharing’ once and for all,” he wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a letter that also was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account.
Addis Ababa’s September 9 inauguration of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been a source of anger in Cairo, which is downstream on the Nile.
Ethiopia, the continent’s second-most populous nation with more than 120 million people, sees the $5 billion dam on a tributary of the Nile as central to its economic ambitions.
Egypt says the dam violates international treaties and could cause both droughts and flooding, a claim Ethiopia rejects.
Trump has praised El-Sisi in the past, including during an October trip to Egypt to sign a deal related to the Gaza conflict. In public comments, Trump has echoed Cairo’s concerns about the water issue.
