On 10 February, Libyan National Army (LNA) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Khaled Haftar opened the ‘First Strategic Security Conference for Chiefs of Staff of Mediterranean Basin and Sub-Saharan Africa States’ in Benghazi at the Conference Hall under the theme ‘Joint Cooperation to Combat Cross-Border/Transboundary Crimes’. The three-day event was hosted and organized by the General Command of the LNA under the patronage of its Commander Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar.
Khaled Haftar stressed that regional security threats are growing and that instability in any one country endangers its neighbours. He argued that only military strategies grounded in research and accurate assessment can produce an effective regional deterrence framework, expressing hope that the conference would yield actionable recommendations for a unified security approach.
Among the participants were senior military leaders, including chiefs of staff and commanders from 18 countries, mainly from the eastern Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, including Algeria, Egypt, Spain, Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Greece, France, Malta and Turkey. On the first day of the conference, the Deputy SRSG for Political Affairs Stephanie Koury participated.
Among the highest-ranking foreign participants were Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and Vice Admiral Christophe Lucas, the French Commander in Chief for the Mediterranean Maritime Zone (CECMED).
Key topics were containing illegal migration, fighting transnational organized crime including human trafficking and arms smuggling in North Africa, the Sahel and the Mediterranean, and countering terrorism and militant activity. Discussions focused on exchanging operational experiences, intelligence coordination, and practical joint mechanisms against regional threats. Moreover, a number of research papers on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, crisis management, and relevant international agreements were presented.
On 12 February, the last day of the conference, the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces emphasized Egypt’s support for joint Arab, African, and Mediterranean security efforts, including coordination against terrorism, irregular migration, and cross‑border crime. He underlined the importance of military-to-military cooperation and information sharing to address shared threats in North Africa and the Sahel. Finally, he acknowledged Libya’s role as a key partner in regional security and the need to back Libyan institutions in stabilizing the country and its borders.
In his closing remarks, Khaled Haftar reiterated the need for unified security and military vision among states to achieve regional stability, starting with securing geographic surroundings. He emphasized the significance of power as the foundation of protection of the people and defense of the country. According to him, without power, states lose legitimacy.