His Excellency the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa, met on Sunday with the Chairman of the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS), Dr Aref Nayed at the residence of His Excellency the Speaker. Dr Nayed is on a working visit over this time to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
His Excellency the President discussed with Dr Nayed the latest developments in the Libyan situation, especially regional and international developments and their impacts on the Libyan situation, particularly with regard to the counter-terrorism dimension.
For his part, Dr Nayed briefed His Excellency the Speaker on the results of his recent foreign visits to the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Russia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and, most recently the Arab Republic of Egypt.
In his presentation, Dr Nayed discussed the results and content of his meetings with senior political, security and diplomatic officials in these countries, particularly his intensive meetings in the United States and Russia. He stressed his emphasis during his meetings that the Libyan Parliament elected in 2014 and currently sitting in Tobruk remains the only legitimate legislative body, NOT the parallel group in Tripoli that has impersonated the parliament and is contrary to Libyan law.
At the local level, the two sides addressed the need to arrange a joint national roadmap for the coming period with consensus at the national, regional and international levels being the first objectives.
The two sides also discussed the ongoing work of the armed forces against terrorism, outlaw armed groups, smuggling gangs and organised crime and acknowledged that these criminal groups, supported externally by some countries and internally by some Libyan institutions have gained dominance over the decision-making and the capabilities of these critical, national institutions.
The two sides also touched on the social aspect where His Excellency Speaker Aguila Saleh stressed the importance of continuing communication and community coordination at all levels in light of the current and delicate conditions of the country’s life and, for his part Dr Nayed presented the results of the work of the LIAS during the recent period in communicating with the leaders of the social fabric and civil society.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue coordination and communication in the best interests of the country at this stage and the next detailed stage of the history of the country, stressing the importance of the cohesion of the House of Representatives as the only elected legislative authority with legitimacy, despite the interference of parallel, illegitimate bodies.