Tripoli (Libya), May 19: Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush on Tuesday stressed the importance of strengthening political legitimacy in the country by addressing security issues and imposing national sovereignty in all Libya.
She made the remarks during a meeting with U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood in Tripoli, the Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
She spoke of uniting the Libyan institutions and "liberating the national sovereign decisions from any material or moral coercion, whether internally or externally," the statement said.
The Libyan foreign minister also stressed the need to end foreign interference, provide services for the people, develop the work of official institutions and launch a comprehensive national reconciliation.
She called for reopening the U.S. Embassy in Libya, as well as the U.S. consulates in Tripoli and Benghazi to "send a message that Libya is stable."
Hood stressed the U.S. commitment to diplomatic participation and presence in Libyan affairs and support for the Libyan people's efforts to realize political consensuses, the statement said.
He also pointed out that America expects a sovereign, stable, unified Libya that suffers no foreign interference and has capability to combat terrorism.
Libya has been deeply plagued over the past few years by a political and economic collapse, inter-militia and intertribal warfare, as well as humanitarian crisis, after forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in March 2011 intervened in the country's civil war and helped overthrow its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.
A new unity government headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah was formed in March this year with the support of the United Nations-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. The new authority is generally welcomed by all Libyan parties.
Source: Xinhua
