Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday in a show of support for the new unity government striving to bridge Libya's deep political divisions. He is expected to meet with the prime minister of the transitional government, Fayez al-Sarraj, and will discuss concrete ways to increase stability, fight terrorism and provide support for the people of Libya, including institution-building in the war-torn country.
Sarraj visited Ankara in January and met with Davutoğlu. Libya has been plagued by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. Since then, rival militias have frequently clashed, bringing violence to main cities and hampering efforts supported by Ankara to end violence in the country. Two weeks ago, Turkey's special envoy for Libya, former Deputy Prime Minister Emrullah İşler, urged the two sides to overcome the crisis through national dialogue and deliberation in the latest of a series of visits to the country since the civil war started.
In Istanbul last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Sarraj, who is also the chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, on the sidelines of the 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit. Sarraj told Erdoğan that Turkey will reopen its embassy in Tripoli soon and that Turkish Airlines will also restart flying to Libya.
Davutoğlu in Strasbourg to address PACEPrime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is in Strasbourg today to make an address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) spring session. PACE is the legislative body of the Council of Europe and represents the bloc's 47 member states. Erdoğan addressed PACE while prime minister in 2011. Turkey's humanitarian efforts for Syrian refuges, the recent Turkey-EU refugee deal, Turkey's reform process through the EU and the Council of Europe norms and regulations are among the topics Davutoğlu is expected to talk about during his speech. After his address, Davutoğlu will answer questions from parliamentarians of the EU's 47 member states.
