Greece opened a consulate on Tuesday in Libya’s second largest city of Benghazi, as European countries sought to renew their diplomatic footprint inside the north African country.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias announced the move during a visit to Benghazi, after Athens revealed the reopening of its embassy in Tripoli last week during a trip to the Libyan capital by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The diplomatic visits came after Libya's interim government was inaugurated last month.
"My visit to Benghazi today is a continuation of this visit and signals our full support for the Libyan caretaker government and the electoral process that will take place in December," Mr Dendias said.
He was speaking alongside Hussein Qatrani, one of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Libya’s Government of National Unity.
France, Italy and Malta recently announced they will reopen embassies in Tripoli.
Libya's interim government is supposed to pave the way for elections to be held in December.
It came into being after a ceasefire was agreed to last year between the country's largest armed factions. The conflict in the country drew in a plethora of foreign powers and mercenaries.
“Greece has always argued that the solution to the problem in Libya must come from the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign mercenaries from Libyan territory,” Mr Dendias said.
“This must be done immediately and the Libyan people must be responsible for the fate of their country.”
He repeated his condemnation of a maritime zone agreement between Libya's previous government and Turkey. Greece says the deal is illegal and infringes on its territory.
But Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday underlined his support for the deal after meeting Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
