Berlin Conference on Libya

“Mrs. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor,
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Ladies and gentlemen, heads of delegations,

Allow me, at the outset, to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Federal Republic of Germany for its efforts in organizing and hosting this important conference that takes place in a crucial stage of Libyan history.
I also express my sincere appreciation to the United Nations, that under its auspices, this conference is held. It has made valuable efforts over the past years aimed at bringing peace and security to Libya. Additionally, the participation of the African Union and the High-level African Commission on Libya chaired by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, the League of Arab States, the European Union, and the Libya’s neighboring countries, affirms their valuable contributions, supporting the political solution. Many parties, through their contacts and influence, during various stages of the crisis, have pushed through towards reaching a settlement.
There is also no doubt that, the recent effort made by the Russian Federation and its endeavors, days before the convening of our conference, in terms of contributing to the ceasefire and stopping infighting in Libya, was aimed at stopping the bloodshed of the brotherly Libyan people and providing the appropriate conditions for today's conference to be held, in order to continue our efforts towards reaching a comprehensive political solution in Libya.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over the past nine years, the crisis in Libya has gone through critical junctures; It was a long and heavy time for the Libyan people. The suffering of Libyans has increased greatly on humanitarian, security and economic levels. The impact of this extremely difficult situation has not been confined within the borders of Libya but it has extended to the security and stability of its direct neighbors, including Egypt, whose national security has been severely affected by the presence of terrorist groups on its long shared borders with Libya. The impact also extends to the Africa Sahel countries, whose security has been threatened, due to the presence of these terrorist groups in Libya, as well as European countries, that facing illegal migration coming from Libya across the Mediterranean has become a major concern during past years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Facing this, and sensing the historical responsibility towards our Libyan people together with the security of Libya and the whole region, Egypt has moved, since the outbreak of the Libyan crisis, through all collective mechanisms with sincere efforts to restore security and stability to Libya.
Cairo has hosted a huge number of meetings, some of which were included in the social framework by receiving tribal representatives, and others in the political context by receiving parliamentarians and the parties of the Libyan political equation. We exerted a concrete effort in working to unify the Libyan military establishment. We made sure that our contributions were coordinated and supportive to the internationally-agreed efforts of the United Nations in seeking to put Libya on the path of a desired solution to its protracted and chronic crisis.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
A solution can still be reached in Libya and there is still an opportunity to reach a comprehensive political settlement. We hope that the international community has become today more faithful and convinced that a comprehensive approach to a solution in Libya should be adopted, taking into account all political, security, economic and social aspects, as well as the fair distribution of power and the revenue of state resources in Libya. It is not right to allow a certain region or city to enjoy Libya’s blessings without allowing others; it is not also right that the authority be taken over by a party other than the rest. No illegal foreign interventions in Libya should be allowed. We must stand firm and decisive in the face of sending foreign fighters and mercenaries to Libya. We must continue confronting terrorist groups in Libya to eliminate them. No negotiations can be made with extremism or its supporters. I confirm that we, in Egypt, have and will never compromise in the future with those groups and parties supporting them, whatever the circumstances are. The power of those who deplete the state’s resources to finance all of the above-mentioned, must be ended, and the vicious circle of corruption that extends inside and outside Libya must be broken. It is important to build on what has been reached and set a vision for the mechanisms of implementing this comprehensive solution that preserves the security in Libya, its neighbors, the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and the countries of the Sahel and Sahara; that their people suffer from the proliferation of weapons and manifestation of chaos.
I would like to be frank with you, as we, in Egypt, do not see that the situation in Libya can return to its nature without having five main factors: Correction of the imbalance in the Presidential Council, formation of an independent government that is agreed upon by the parties and receives the approval of the Parliament, disarmament of militias, unification of the army, and equitable distribution of wealth.
I note here that the mechanisms for achieving these goals are known, and that the United Nations formulated them along its three tracks. The political track is governed by a dialogue committee comprising of 40 Libyan characters, who must reach an agreement as soon as possible on the new government and the Presidential Council in its proper form. The United Nations envoy is already extending invitations to the Libyan authorities to appoint their representatives, and we hope that the launch of this committee and the start of its work will not take a long time.
As for the economic track, it has already started, and the first indications show that it is possible to be optimistic that its work can result in consensus on issues of distributing the revenues of the state resources and how they can be used to benefit all Libyans.
Finally, we hope that security tracks will be based on clear foundations by selecting participants whom are credible military figures in the security committee, working according to the logic of the state and believing in confining the weapon under the control of the state, not within a framework that enhances the militias control over parts of the Libyan territories.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is no doubt that all the mechanisms that aim at reaching a political solution must be negotiated by Libyan legitimate political forces and that extremist forces should not be allowed to be a party in the negotiation process of the future of Libya. An innovative mechanism supervised by the United Nations for peacekeeping is the main guarantee for the effectiveness of these tracks.

In conclusion,
We have exerted a sincere effort during the preparation of this conference for coming up with results that go beyond mere talks about a ceasefire and an arms embargo, to taking actions of dismantling militias and combating terrorism, together with working to resolve the crisis of the current imbalance in the executive authority and addressing economic issues to ensure that our crisis is comprehensive. This is an affirmation that the goal of achieving a permanent cease-fire cannot be reached without a real confrontation with the depth and roots of the crisis, not its manifestations.
Egypt will continue its efforts through contacts with the Libyan brothers and sincere work with its partners until this goal is achieved. We hope that the efforts of all the participants in our conference today will come together with a sincere intention to achieve the shared goals reflected in the conclusions that we are preparing to adopt today. I also hope that the wills of the countries will converge towards helping Libya get out of this crisis.
I reiterate my thanks to the Federal Republic of Germany and to Chancellor Angela Merkel for hosting this important conference, which I hope will make a quantum leap on the path of making peace in Libya.
Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.”