Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with his Libyan counterpart, Najla Mangoush, last week in Italy, the Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, marking the first-ever official meeting between the countries’ top diplomats. The two met to discuss the possibility of cooperation and the preservation of Jewish heritage sites in Libya. “The size and strategic location of Libya provides enormous importance and enormous potential for the State of Israel to establish ties with it,” he added. While Israel and Libya have never had ties, there have long been reported contacts between Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam and Israeli officials. In response to news of the meeting, Libyan presidential candidate Suleiman al-Bayoudi, who is running for the post in the UN-backed government, harshly critized the encounter.

Source: Libya Today August 27, 2023 17:14 UTC