Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, the head of Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), pledged on Tuesday to rebuild the flood-affected areas in the east of the country.
He said his government is capable of completing the reconstruction works in Derna and the rest of the al-Jebal al-Akhdar cities in the east of the country, where a hurricane-strength storm lashed the area on September 10, devastating entire neighborhoods and sweeping thousands of people into the sea.
Dbeibah also underscored the importance to tackling the psychological repercussions of the affected population.
Speaking at a conference on mental health and psychotherapy in Tripoli, he said the country “has experienced very difficult circumstances, and previous governments neglected psychological support.”
On Monday, Dbeibah met with the UK Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, James Hebbey, to review Libyan-British cooperation on training and the fight against terrorism.
Meanwhile, head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi called for the formation of a post-disaster management team to deal with the aftermath of the floods.
During a meeting of the National Planning Council, he said the team should include experts and specialists in various fields to deal with the current situation in Libya and take appropriate and rapid decisions.
Also in Tripoli, Menfi’s two deputies, Moussa al-Kouni and Abdullah Lafi said they discussed with US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland and Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Anne Witkowsky the latest developments in Libya and ways to develop cooperation mechanisms between Tripoli and Washington in many areas, especially in holding elections, and achieving reconciliation and development.
Separately, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) on coordination and cooperation in managing and securing Libyan borders and in fighting against border crimes and terrorism.
