Al-Sarraj Discusses Bilateral Cooperation With Turkey

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez-Sarraj received a high-level Turkish delegation in Tripoli to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The Turkish delegation included Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, Turkish Ambassador to Libya Sarhan Aksan, Chief of Intelligence Hakan Fidan, and several senior officials in the Turkish Presidency and the government.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs for Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) Mohamed Siala, the Minister of Interior Fathi Bashaga, the Minister of Finance Faraj Atmari, the President of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah, and the Libyan Ambassador to the European Union Hafed Kaddour.

The meeting reviewed developments in Libya and international efforts to resolve the current crisis; several cooperation files were discussed in various fields within a special bilateral framework between the two countries.

The meeting addressed ways of bringing Turkish companies back to work in Libya, in addition to cooperation and integration mechanisms in the areas of banking, infrastructure, and oil.

An economic development plan was also clarified through a partnership between the public and private sectors in Libya.

The meeting also reviewed the implementation of the security and military Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries last November, especially increasing Libyan defense and security capabilities.

The latest developments regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on maritime borders were also reviewed.

According to Libya Review sources, Libya’s UN-backed government has deposited 4 billion US dollars in the Central Bank of Turkey.

Another 8 billion US dollars was deposited to pay for Turkey’s recent military intervention in Libya.

Turkey has sent over 70 Turkish UAV drones to Libya, which cost over $5 million US dollars per unit, hundreds of Armoured vehicles (KIRPI) and thousands of Syrian mercenaries who are paid approximately $1500 US dollars a month.

TRT, a Turkish news channel, yesterday quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying “our Foreign exchange reserves are now above $93 million”.

During the last year, Ankara and Tripoli have had several disputes over financial arrangements that saw officials from the Central Bank of Libya oppose a number of agreements.