Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin confers with Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni in Riyadh on Thursday. (SPA)

Key regional issues, including political instability in Libya as well as ways to boost Saudi-Libyan ties, topped the agenda of talks between Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni and top Saudi officials on Thursday. Al-Thinni held wide-ranging talks with Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Chief of the General Intelligence Prince Khaled bin Bandar.

“The talks mainly focused on ways and means to restore peace and security in Libya with special reference to Saudi-Libyan relations,” said a diplomatic source. “The two sides discussed issues of mutual concern and regional developments,” said Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The talks in Riyadh have added significance as Libya’s neighbors have expressed keen interest to reinforce security in and around Libya.

In a statement, the Sudanese government said Thursday that “it is pleased with the progress of its initiative to lay the groundwork for an inclusive Libyan dialogue and that a conference which will include all Libya’s neighbors will be held in Khartoum on Dec. 1. It was not immediately known whether the dialogue process will involve some Arab states or other powerful nations of the MENA region.

In a joint statement issued in September this year, the United States, Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE, UK, UN and EU condemned the ongoing violence that has hijacked Libya’s development and democratic process. “We call on all parties to accept an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire and engage constructively in a peaceful political dialogue,” said the statement.

The growing instability in Libya and the resultant political chaos have severely affected public life, commerce and oil production in that country. Libya, which has the 10th largest proven oil reserves, has failed to tap the resources because of the violence. The Libyan economy depends primarily on revenues from the oil sector, which account for 80 percent of the GDP and 97 percent of exports.

 
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