Most FMs boycott Arab League meeting in Tripoli amid dispute over Libyan government

By AP 22 January 2023, 2:57 pm

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This picture shows a general view of the opening session of the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers on October 29, 2022, in the Algerian capital Algiers, ahead of the Arab League summit on Tuesday. (FETHI BELAID/AFP)

File: This picture shows a general view of the opening session of the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers on October 29, 2022, in the Algerian capital Algiers, ahead of the Arab League summit on Tuesday. (FETHI BELAID/AFP)

A handful of Arab chief diplomats meet in the Libyan capital in a gathering boycotted by powerful foreign ministers who argue that the mandate of the Tripoli-based government has ended.

Five of the 22 member states of the Arab League send their foreign ministers to the periodic, consultative meeting. They include the chief diplomats of neighboring Algeria and Tunisia, local media reports. Others send their envoys to the meeting in Tripoli.

Among those boycotting the gathering is Egypt, which questions the legitimacy of Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah’s government after Libya’s east-based parliament appointed a rival premier last year. The foreign ministers of Gulf monarchies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also do not attend.