Ankara, Tripoli ink oil & gas deal as Turkiye vows to stand by Libyan people

By Azernews

By News Center

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Libyan counterpart Najla el-Mangoush have signed a memorandum of understanding in the energy and hydrocarbons sectors in Tripoli, Yeni Shafak daily reports.

Turkiye has inked another crucial deal, in addition to an Exclusive Economic Zone agreement with Libya, which would shift the balance by securing its rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkiye signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya in the energy and hydrocarbons sectors, removing the hurdles in the Mediterranean posed by Greece, France, and America.

At a joint press conference with his Libyan counterpart following the signing ceremony, Cavusoglu stressed that Turkiye stands by Libya and the Libyan people in difficult times and will continue to do so without hesitation.

“Libya, with its west, east, and south, is a whole and highly valuable to us. We will continue to oppose efforts that are aimed at undermining national unity and solidarity and sparking a civil. With this in mind, we are also meeting with all segments of society in Libya,” Cavusoglu stressed.

The Turkish top diplomat underlined that Turkiye is ready to give all kinds of assistance to the Libyan people to build sustainable peace, tranquillity, and prosperity as soon as possible.

"Our relations with Libya have strengthened by our shared history, as well as our good-neighborly and fraternal ties. During our discussions, we both reiterated our commitment to further developing our relationships. We signed two agreements, as Ms. Najla said. We signed memorandums of agreement in the domains of hydrocarbons and protocols. Negotiations are still proceeding; ideally, we will return by signing a memorandum of agreement in the gas area as well," Cavusoglu said.

In response to a question about Greece’s and France’s objection to Turkiye's previously signed memorandum of understanding on marine jurisdiction zones, Cavusoglu stressed: "Third nations do not have the authority to interfere with the agreement struck by the two sovereign countries. It makes no difference what they think."

When asked about trade between the two nations, the minister said that Turkiye welcomes trade in both local currencies and Turkish liras.

“In this sense, there are countries where we trade with national currencies, and we are trying to increase this rate. In addition, a SWAP agreement is signed between our Central Banks. Therefore, it seems that our trade volume with Libya will exceed $4 billion,” he added.

When questioned about the Libyan elections, Cavusoglu stated, these elections should be a process in which Libyans make decisions, and a roadmap must be established.

He underlined the need for holding Libyan elections in a transparent, fair, and democratic way, as well as everyone accepting their results.

El-Mangoush, for her part, said that they discussed security, telecommunications, media, diplomacy and protocol, and most crucially, energy during issues during their meeting with Cavusoglu.

“We signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries in the energy and hydrocarbons sectors. These agreements show the depth of historical relations between the two friendly countries,” she emphasized.

Cavusoglu highlighted that the government encourages Turkish businessmen to return to Libya and launch new projects, as well as complete the unfinished ones.

“We are working together with our flag bearer Turkish Airlines (THY) to resume flights. We applaud Libya's efforts to implement vital airport security measures. Our THY experts will return to Tripoli and other places in the coming months to inspect them, and we want these flights to begin as soon as possible,” the minister added.

Furthermore, Cavusoglu provided thorough information on the Turkiye-Libya accords.

“We are fully committed to transforming the Mediterranean into a ‘sea of peace’ for the benefit of the riparian countries. As a result, our president proposed to the European Union a joint conference in the Eastern Mediterranean, and we are now awaiting a constructive answer from the EU on this matter,” Cavusoglu stressed.