5 December – 11 December: Haftar heads to Rome for a meeting with the Italian Prime Minister

Dec 11, 2018 | International actors

On 5 December, the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, arrived in Rome for an unannounced two-day visit. During that time Haftar met with the US Ambassador to Tunisia, Daniel Rubinstein. On the 6 December, Haftar met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte where the two resumed discussions begun at the Palermo conference last month.

On 4 December, Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister, Fayez al-Serraj, traveled to Brussels to attend a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. The meeting was part of a two-day program with NATO member state officials meeting to address violent extremism in North Africa and the Middle East.

On 4 December, Serraj met with US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in Brussels to discuss economic reforms, financial transparency, oil production, security and counter-terrorism. Following the meeting, Pompeo re-affirmed the US’s support of UNSMIL and its plan for the Libyan National Dialogue to be held in early 2019.