The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Libya following the elections for the Constitutional Drafting Assembly, which took place last week.
In less than a month, PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi, has met twice with the Acting Chargé d’Affaires at the Libyan Embassy in Malta, H.E. Huseen Benown, with whom PAM’s role in the democratization process in Libya was discussed.
The Libyan Chargé d’Affaires visited the PAM Secretariat’s Headquarters on Tuesday 25 February, for a follow up meeting aimed at preparing a number of immediate initiatives on the ground in Libya.
A mission by the PAM Secretariat in Tripoli will be organized shortly with the aim to meet the current constitutional assembly, to discuss the transition process with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to define how PAM can concretely assist this delicate phase, including, inter alia, the participation in monitoring delegations in view of the next elections.
PAM also offered to welcome at the Secretariat in Malta, Libyan MPs and public officials to acquaint themselves with the work of international organizations and parliamentary diplomacy, in order to familiarize themselves with the tools necessary for their future work at the international level.
PAM assistance was also requested to strengthen the relations between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Libya, and will coordinate with the two sides to organize a visit to Tripoli by an EBRD delegation, to discuss how Libya can also benefit from the Institution’s experience and the financial facilitations, to build a solid base for long term infrastructural projects, in the framework of the Deauville Partnership.
Reference was also made to the request received from the UNDP for PAM to serve as a clearing house, in coordinating international assistance to the newly elected constituent body, which will be taken up in the forthcoming visit to Tripoli.
H.E. Benown, expressed his country’s appreciation for the way PAM has followed the events in Libya, adding that Tripoli is aware that it has an important role to play in the stability of the Mediterranean region, and will strive to cooperate fully with those countries, including within the 5+5 Process of the Western Mediterranean countries, in creating the best possible scenario for peace and security in the region.