Turkish-Egyptian Cooperation on Libya

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced today, in a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, that his country will cooperate more closely with Egypt regarding Libya, marking another step in the rapprochement efforts between the two countries. He stated that the two nations will work on establishing a roadmap for conducting elections in Libya and may also train and strengthen a joint military force comprising troops from both eastern and western Libya. For his part, Shoukry expressed Cairo's desire to collaborate with Turkey on conducting elections in Libya. He confirmed that the two countries agreed on a specific time frame to elevate diplomatic relations and prepare for a summit between the presidents. Both Ankara and Cairo support different factions in Libya, and the conflict in Libya has been one of the points of contention between Egypt and Turkey.