Press Advisories

13. 11. 201818:04

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš attended Conference on Libya in Palermo, Sicily

On Tuesday, 13 November 2018, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš attended Conference on Libya in Palermo, Sicily. At the meeting he discussed political and security issues as well as the humanitarian involvement of the Czech Republic in the Sahel region.

In addition to the representatives of Libya, the conference was attended by representatives of permanent members of the UN Security Council, Libyan neighbouring states, prominent regional countries, representatives of the EU, League of Arab States and the United Nations.

North Africa is an important region for the Czech government according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who wants to work together with Libya and other North African countries on a plan to prevent illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. It is important to seek solutions for destabilized countries such as Libya together. “I think it is a good thing that the Czech Republic is active in foreign policy, that we will attend this conference on Libya, where the debate is very complicated. We need to agree on a common position at the European Council and speak with those countries as one, because when everyone speaks on their own, it is a problem”, added the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Babiš appreciated the opportunity to show the representatives of the various political factions in Libya that the international community is united and supports Prime Minister Sarraj’s Government of National Accord. It is now very important to maintain security in Libya, especially in Tripoli, which has been paralyzed by clashes between feuding militias since the end of August. The second major area, according to Prime Minister Babiš, is the strengthening of the economy.

The Czech Republic has been supporting the European Trust Fund for Africa since its inception in 2015. In July 2017, the government approved a grant of EUR 1 million in support for Integrated Border Protection in Libya and in January 2018 a grant of EUR 8.75 million for the second phase of the same project. Last year it also contributed CZK 5 million to improve living conditions in detention centres in Libya, and this year an equal donation was sent through the Medevac program to improve the medical situation in Libya.

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš attended a dinner with all the major partners affected by the Libyan situation, organized by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

As part of the evening program, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also met with the Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay.

After the visit to Palermo, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš flew to Copenhagen.