The Netherlands says too early to reopen embassy in Libya
Holland has announced that it will send a new envoy to Libya three years after closing its mission in the war-torn country, news outlets reported on Friday.
However, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Chris Bakker, it is “too early to re-open the embassy” in the Libyan capital. He noted that this would be much more expensive to do now.
The decision was apparently taken after a meeting held between Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and the Libyan prime minister and foreign minister, during which they agreed on some form of diplomatic representation.
“This is an important first step to being represented once again in Tripoli at the diplomatic level,” explained Koenders. He pointed out that a re-opened diplomatic mission would follow up on the “complex situation” in Libya.
The head of Libya’s UN-backed Presidential Council, Fayiz Al-Sarraj, arrived in The Hague on Wednesday for an official visit at the invitation of the Dutch prime minister.
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