Pentagon receives Libyan Deputy Defence Minister

The US Department of Defence hosted Libya’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Abdulsalam Al-Zoubi, on Saturday in Washington. This meeting represents the first official visit by a Libyan Defence Ministry official to the Pentagon in more than ten years.

Al-Zoubi met with several senior US defence officials including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence David Cate and Rear Admiral Erin Osborne from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Their discussions focused on military cooperation opportunities between the two nations, particularly in areas of training, capacity building and counterterrorism efforts.

The Libyan delegation’s agenda includes participation in the 2025 Special Operations Forces Week in Tampa, Florida, scheduled for 5-8 May. This event brings together defence representatives from numerous countries.

Also attending the Pentagon meetings were the US Defence Attaché to Libya and officials from the Department of Defence’s North Africa Office and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​