Egypt reopens its embassy in Tripoli as it seeks closer energy ties
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for a gas pipeline linking the two countries and the refining of Libyan oil in Egypt.
Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, travelled to Tripoli on Saturday to reopen his country's embassy, which had been closed since 2012 amid the turmoil that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Cairo previously supported the eastern administration of military commander Khalifa Haftar, but is now rebuilding relations with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, with a particular focus on energy. "All we want now is to begin, on the technical level, the implementation phase," Mr Abdelatty said at the opening ceremony. "There are promising projects, particularly the laying of a gas pipeline linking Libya to Egypt."
The minister also called for the acceleration of a proposed project to refine Libyan crude in Egypt for re-export, the rehabilitation of Libya's own refineries and the restoration of electricity interconnections between the two countries. He noted that Egypt is the only country in the eastern or southern Mediterranean with facilities to liquefy natural gas.
The shift follows the ratification by Libya's eastern-based authorities of a disputed maritime agreement with Turkey, which Egypt says infringes on its maritime zone. Libya has been divided between rival administrations in the east and west since 2014.