On 19-20 December, the EU Delegation to Libya and the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) held two-day consultations in Rome with EUNAVFOR Med’s Operation Irini to explore ‘how the EU and Mission Irini can best support the Committee’s work’.
On 19 December, US Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Berndt led a US military delegation visit to Tripoli where they met with Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Juma and Deputy Minister of Defense Abdussalam Zoubi. They had ‘a productive discussion about opportunities to expand U.S.-Libya mili tary cooperation’. During the meeting, the joint training programmes for 2024 and proposed pro grammes for 2025 were reviewed, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the Libyan army ele ments. The proposed cooperation agreement between the two countries in the field of the Air Force were discussed – it was agreed to strengthen cooperation in this field.
On 20 December, Khalifa Haftar held talks with Egypt’s General Intelligence Chief, Hassan Rashad, fo cusing on regional developments and the political process in Libya.
On 23 December, the Italian Chief of Staff of the Italian Defense General Luciano Portolano conducted a lightening visit to Tripoli (his first since taking up the role) where he met with high-ranking Libyan officials, including his Libyan counterpart Muhammed al-Haddad, to renew the Italian commitment in the field of training and strengthening the Libyan Coast Guard. He also extended his holiday greetings to the approximately 100 soldiers of the Bilateral Mission for Assistance and Support in Libya (MIASIT).