Bourita presents Royal speech in Paris conference on Libya

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, representing Morocco at the Paris Libya conference, presented the “royal approach of King Mohammed VI to settling the Libyan crisis and his will to make Morocco a land to receive the Libyan dialogue,” reported MAP.

“This approach, which is based on respecting the will of the Libyans and not imposing guardianship, has enabled significant progress to be achieved, starting with the conclusion of the Skhirat political agreement in December 2015,” said Bourita.

The Skhirat agreement or Libyan Political agreement took place in Skhirat Morocco. It created a Presidency Council, a rump executive that took office in Tripoli in March 2016 and was tasked to form a unity government, and an advisory High State Council of ex-GNC members.

In 2O2O, Morocco also hosted several Libyan agreements events, including Bouznika agreements and the commitment of Rabat, which, according to Bourita, are political gatherings that contributed to bringing together the different political groups of the war-torn country.

The foreign minister asked world leaders participating in the international conference to come out with strong and clear messages directed to Libya and the international community, as he called on the Libyan parties to commit to the democratic process of holding “a consensual and comprehensive election.”

The royal speech presented by Bourita sees the Dec, 24 election an opportunity to transform the ceasefire in Libya into a lasting peace and the final settlement of the issue of legitimacy.

The presidential vote on December 24, and legislative elections, are the core parts of a United Nations plan to help bring stability to Libya.

After expressing the Kingdom of Morocco’s support for the efforts of the Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh government, the Minister stated that Morocco is ready to support any agreement between the Libyans.

“Morocco is ready to support any matter agreed upon by the Libyans, and this is well understood by the Libyan brothers,” Bourita said.

Bourita added that King Mohammed VI is closely following developments in the country, as the kingdom “feels sorry” to see some countries treating Libya as a commercial or a diplomatic asset.

Instead, the royal speech called world states to help the oil-rich country to rebuild itself, thanks to its own resources and through investments managed by the Libyans themselves.

The Moroccan minister concluded the royal speech by renewing the Kingdom’s support to UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres, and his Personal Envoy, Jan Kubis.

The Paris conference on Libya is aiming at ensuring Libya sticks to the plan of holding elections in December and turning a new page in its history.

Libya has been grappling with an intense political crisis since the overthrow of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 uprising, with the oil-rich country split for years between rival factions, one based in the capital, Tripoli, and the other in the eastern part of the country.