Libya, Algeria Discuss Border Security

Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
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Libya, Algeria Discuss Border Security

Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)
Libyan FM Najla al-Magnoush meets with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit. (Algerian Foreign Ministry)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stressed his country's hope that Libya will hold elections, which would be a "significant step" in resolving its political crisis.

The president received on Thursday Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush.

He urged the need for all foreign militias to withdraw from Libya and for an end to foreign meddling in its internal affairs.

He expressed Algeria's keenness on Libya holding elections before the end of the year, said informed sources.

Presidential and parliamentary elections were set to be held in December 2021, but they were postponed over political disagreements.

Tebboune stressed the need to resolve political disputes between various Libyan parties so that stability can be restored in their country and the region.

Talks with Magnoush also tackled border security, illegal migration, arms smuggling and views on the Ukraine war.

For her part, Magnoush said her one-day visit sought to garner support to Libya's Government of National Unity ahead of holding transparent elections.

Talks also focused on stability in Libya that will ensure stability in the Arab and Maghreb regions, she added.

According to the Libyan Foreign Ministry, Tebboune expressed Algeria's "unconditional support" to the GNU and its strenuous efforts to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

Magnoush also met with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, during her visit.



Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Newly elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will hold consultations with members of parliament from Jan. 13 to nominate a prime minister, the presidency said on Friday.

Once named, the new prime minister must form a government, a process that often takes many months. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is widely seen as a frontrunner, but opposition parliamentarian Fouad Makhzoumi may have the backing of a number of lawmakers, political sources said.

The post is reserved for a Sunni figure in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, which also reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament post for a Shiite.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Aoun as president on Thursday, filling a post that has been vacant since October 2022 with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

In his first remarks as president on Thursday, Aoun said that he would work to assert the state's right to hold the monopoly on arms.

Mikati said on Friday that the state would begin disarming in southern Lebanon, to assert its presence across the country.

Lebanon and Israel agreed in November to a 60-day ceasefire that stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorized to carry arms.

The proposal refers to both sides' commitment to fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including provisions that refer to the "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon".