Congolese Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso welcomed the "progress" made by Denis Sassou Nguesso, who chairs the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, to restore relations and stability in this country.
During a press briefing, following the Congolese president's working visit to Tripoli and Benghazi, Gakosso expressed his support for Nguesso's continued commitment to cooperate with the Libyan authorities in the interest of peace, stability and prosperity through a political process defined and led by the Libyans, and facilitated by the African Union, according to what the local newspaper Les Echos Congo Brazza reported on Saturday.
The newspaper said that Cyrenaica and Benghazi, in particular, welcomed the presence of Congolese President, who chairs the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, and who stayed in their country for more than 48 hours. Nguesso conveyed a message of peace to Khalifa Haftar, who controls a vast area in the east where there is significant oil wealth, according to the newspaper.
This visit comes at an important moment for the Libyan file, as internal divisions and external interference continue to slow any tangible progress toward stability.
Last Monday, the African delegation, headed by Nguesso, met with the Head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to discuss the final topics before setting a date for a reconciliation conference.
During a joint press conference with Menfi in Tripoli, Nguesso explained the possibility of the Ethiopian capital hosting the parties to the national reconciliation in Libya, so that they themselves can sign the reconciliation charter in mid-February. He said: "Despite the lack of tangible indications of activating reconciliation, we believe that we are on the right path, and we are heading toward national reconciliation, which is necessary to move toward elections."