The Arab Spring of 2011 was a great eye-opener. Many Arab leaders and elite were caught unawares. The event also served to put Arab technocrats on the alert. Government functionaries started to be on their toes thereafter. Now, the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria are worried about the events in Libya. They have issued a joint statement on the Libyan crisis called “The Cairo Declaration”, following their recent talks in Cairo.
The statement reads as follows:
1. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with counterparts of Tunisia Khemaies Jhinaoui and Algeria Abdelkader Messahel for consultations on the developments of the situation in Libya and efforts to support inter-Libyan dialogue to reach a comprehensive solution to the Libyan crisis under the tripartite initiative of the three countries and to follow up the outcome of their previous talks in Tunisia in February and in Algeria in June.
2. The Ministers reaffirmed their countries’ constant stance and principles which rule their joint action to support efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, topped by maintaining the territorial integrity and stability of Libya, commitment to dialogue and Libyan political accord as basis for a comprehensive solution to the Libyan crisis, and to reject any foreign interference in Libya or resorting to the military option.
3. The Ministers appreciated efforts exerted by the Libyan envoy to the UN, Ghassan Salame, expressing appreciation for the political plan he had presented to address the Libyan crisis. They called on the Libyan parties to show enough flexibility during current negotiations held in Tunisia and to seek to reach required accord.
4. In this context, the Ministers reviewed efforts exerted by Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia over the recent period to achieve accord among all Libyan parties and to encourage them to respond to the UN envoy’s efforts. They appealed to the Libyan parties to refrain from using violence and to resort to any form of incitement or escalating measures, stressing the importance of achieving a breakthrough in the course of settlement as soon as possible to pave the way to hold legislative and presidential election and to end the transitional stage in Libya.
5. The Ministers discussed the latest security developments in Libya, warning of the continuous deteriorating security situation in Libya and its repercussions on the daily lives of Libyan citizens. They stressed the importance of continuing and backing security coordination, exchanging information and boosting cooperation in the field of countering terrorism.
6. The Ministers lauded the importance of the mechanism of Libya’s neighboring countries and their vision to resolve the Libyan crisis to help the people restore security and stability.
7. The Ministers agreed to continue consultations and to hold their next meeting in Tunisia on a date to be set later.
