The fact that I am primarily talking about civic participation rather than civil war in Tripoli today is a genuine step forward. Libya has achieved considerable milestones over the past two years. Today, there is a Government of National Accord, the oil blockade has ended and the guns have largely fallen silent. The international community and the UN have helped open the door to a better future for Libya through concerted diplomacy.

If we are to seize this opportunity and consolidate these positive developments, we must move forward. The decisions of the UN Security Council and the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum must be implemented to the letter. The country needs continued international engagement in order to achieve progress for all the people of Libya. It is for this reason that I came to Tripoli to reopen the German Embassy here. It had been closed since 2014, and we were only able to support Tripoli from neighbouring Tunis. Today, with the reopening, we want to show that Germany is and remains a committed partner at Libya’s side. We want to have a voice on the ground in the Libyan capital once again.

The former parties to the conflict have acknowledged that there can be no violent solution for their country. For lasting stability, Libya now needs nationwide elections to give rise to political institutions. That is why it is so crucial that these elections take place. The separation of powers instead of violence is the challenge that the country faces right now. That is what I will be talking about today with the Presidential Council, the Prime Minister and the High National Election Commission.