Dbeibeh, Mechichi Discuss Economic Cooperation, Libya's Reconstruction

The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
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Dbeibeh, Mechichi Discuss Economic Cooperation, Libya's Reconstruction

The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi arrived in Tripoli on Saturday on an official two-day business visit.

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh received Mechichi and his accompanying delegation, which included several government ministers and around 100 business leaders who are expected to take part in a joint economic forum in Tripoli.

Officials from both countries are scheduled to discuss means of bolstering bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, investment, and commercial fields, in addition to Libya's reconstruction, the Libyan News Agency reported.

Tunisia pins high hopes on stability in Libya to revive its economy, sources said.

Mechichi pointed out that the Libyan market “is a promising strategic market for Tunisia,” especially after the progress in Libya’s political situation.

“Tunis will play a major role in Libya’s reconstruction and in keeping pace with its economic and developmental boom, in light of important factors and a common will that would help serve both countries’ economies,” Tunisian media quoted Mechichi as saying.

According to an official Tunisian statement, the visit aims to strengthen and push forward available means of cooperation at more than one level.

Mechichi will attend the launch of the Libyan-Tunisian Forum and Exhibition, in which more than 150 Tunisian economic institutions will take part, in an attempt to bolster bilateral partnership in the field of reconstruction.

Informed Tunisian sources said both sides are expected to assess the primary stages for the Tunisian-Libyan Supreme Committee.

The visit’s program also includes launching the Tunisian-Libyan air route, as well as inaugurating the Tunisian-Libyan exhibition in Tripoli.

Almost 1,000 Tunisian investors and businessmen are expected to participate in this exhibition, which presents several vital areas, such as construction, industrial products, trade, services, and the banking sector.



Egypt’s Parliament Speaker Rejects Proposals for Taking in Palestinians from Gaza

 Two boys watch a crowd of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, amid destroyed buildings, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to return for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Two boys watch a crowd of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, amid destroyed buildings, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to return for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
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Egypt’s Parliament Speaker Rejects Proposals for Taking in Palestinians from Gaza

 Two boys watch a crowd of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, amid destroyed buildings, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to return for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Two boys watch a crowd of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, amid destroyed buildings, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to return for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)

Egypt’s parliament speaker on Monday strongly rejected proposals to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, saying this could spread conflict to other parts of the Middle East.

The comments by Hanfy el-Gebaly, speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, came a day after US President Donald Trump urged Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza.

El-Gebaly, who didn’t address Trump’s comments directly, told a parliament session Monday that such proposals "are not only a threat to the Palestinians but also they also represent a severe threat to regional security and stability.”

“The Egyptian House of Representatives completely rejects any arrangements or attempts to change the geographical and political reality for the Palestinian cause,” he said.

On Sunday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting any “temporary or long-term” transfer of Palestinians out of their territories.

The ministry warned that such a move “threatens stability, risks expanding the conflict in the region and undermines prospects of peace and coexistence among its people.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right governing partners have long advocated what they describe as the voluntary emigration of large numbers of Palestinians and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Human rights groups have already accused Israel of ethnic cleansing, which United Nations experts have defined as a policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove the civilian population of another group from certain areas “by violent and terror-inspiring means.”