The President of the Council of Libya, Mohammed al-Manfi, will visit Congo-Brazzaville, where he will meet with President Denis Sassou-N’Guesso.
On July 15 and 16, the President of the Presidential Council in Libya, Mohammed al-Manfi, will travel to Congo-Brazzaville with a delegation. The Congolese head of state, who chairs the High Level Committee of the African Union (AU) on Libya, has been carrying out for several weeks a series of diplomatic actions on behalf of Africa, in the delicate Libyan issue, of which this visit resembles the climax. After calling for a peaceful solution, the Congolese president took action. To promote Libyan sovereignty, “DSN” recently met the politico-religious leader Cheikh Farhat Jaâbiri, in Brazzaville. It is now the President of the Libyan Council who, after Paris, Ankara and even Tunis, knows that the meeting which he awaits in Brazzaville will be decisive.
Sassou N’Guesso for a Sovereign Solution in Libya
Because Denis Sassou N’Guesso has positioned himself as one of the few African voices in the Libyan dossier. After a Berlin II summit which showed its limits, Libya knows that its future lies in Africa. With his counterpart Mohammed al-Manfi, Denis Sassou N’Guesso is expected to discuss possible solutions in Libya and the upcoming elections. The Congolese president has certain advantages in his pocket, including that of being able to unite the different parties around the same objective. Al-Manfi, rather isolated, could well see himself finding common ground with the many protagonists of the Libyan political scene. However, the Congolese president has contacts, sometimes old, with the statesmen of the continent.
For a 100% African Solution
The appearance of “DSN” alongside Farhat Jaâbiri showed Libyan leaders that Ibadi diplomacy, generally effective, was being revived in Libya. The Libyan and Congolese presidents are also expected to quickly agree on the need to act to maintain peace in the region, as the Libyan crisis has serious consequences for the Sahel. The Congolese head of state has excellent relations with his Sahelian counterparts, and he hopes to be able to implement a 100% African peace plan on this issue. To do this, Al-Manfi would like to rule out foreign interference, some countries already eyeing the reconstruction of Libya and lucrative contracts. The African solution therefore appears to be the best so that Tripoli can retain all its sovereignty.
A Message to France
This trip to the Congo is also very symbolic. While he would like the departure of Turkish and Russian mercenaries from Libya, Al-Manfi does not carry France in his heart. “Give me a chance to catch up,“ implored Emmanuel Macron during the Libyan president’s first trip last March. The Libyan head of state would prefer to consolidate his relations with his African neighbors, such as Chad or Algeria. Denis Sassou N’Guesso, cold with Paris, can he be the solution? In the case of Chad and the Central African Republic, the Congolese president nipped the crisis between the two countries in the bud, by bringing together Touadéra and Pahimi. The experience, seniority and continental aura of the Congolese president are assets that Al-Manfi would like to take advantage of. Because if he wants to hold the December elections, the Libyan leader must move quickly and get help from African countries. “DSN” could play an important role in finding a continental solution.
The New Dynamic of Sassou N’Guesso
The Congolese president is currently in a positive dynamic. Above all, Denis Sassou N’Guesso took the measure of the task that awaited him by setting up diplomatic meetings. Pan-African, he intends to find a solution on behalf of the continent. The Congolese head of state is less malleable than some other new friends of the Elysee, like the Nigerian, Chadian or Togolese presidents, but above all, he has nothing more to prove and will try to plant the flags of Africa above the negotiating table.
