Major challenges facing Libya

Enlarge image German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle meets with Libyan Prime Minister of the interim government, Abdel-Rahim al-Keeb in Tripoli, Libya. (© picture-alliance / dpa) On the second leg of his travels in North Africa, Foreign Minister Westerwelle has been in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to gain a first-hand impression of the post Gaddafi situation and reaffirm Germany’s support for the new Libya.

The German Foreign Minister is engaging in political talks to this end with Libya’s interim government under Prime Minister Abdurrahim el Keib and representatives of civil society. Libya has undergone great sacrifice to overthrow the Gaddafi regime and set out towards a better future. After decades of dictatorship, the country is now facing tremendous challenges – from securing its weaponry to integrating the militias into a regular army and developing the structures necessary to uphold the rule of law. The greatest challenge will now be to climb out of the wreckage of dictatorship and move successfully and democratically towards a pluralist society.The German Foreign Minister reiterated his assurances in Tripoli: "Germany stands by the new Libya as its friend and partner, to aid Libya’s successful reconstruction and its move towards democracy in both society and politics."

Germany is supporting democratic change

The German Government is providing extensive assistance for reconstruction and democratic change in Libya. Even while the fighting was still going on there, the Federal Foreign Office made available, for example, funds for emergency humanitarian aid totalling 8 million euro. The German Government also provided the National Transitional Council with a loan of 100 million euro. The money was principally used for medical care for the wounded, and now that Libya’s central bank has been removed from the sanctions lists, the National Transitional Council has paid it back.

... and assisting the war wounded Enlarge image German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle meets the Libyan representative for war casualties, Bin Ismail in Tripoli. (© picture-alliance / dpa)

While in Tripoli, the German Foreign Minister met some of the Libyan war wounded who had returned home after receiving treatment in German hospitals. At the initiative of the Federal Foreign Office, over 1000 Libyans injured in the civil war have been treated in Germany since the end of the conflict. A number of them are still in German hospitals.Libya’s Foreign Minister Ashour Bin Khayal expressed his gratitude for Germany’s political support and the humanitarian aid it had provided – particularly with regard to those wounded in the war.

... as well as helping to deal with weapons stockpiles
The German Government is also helping the interim government to destroy small arms and secure stockpiles of chemical weapons. In November 2011, for instance, it provided financial support for an inspection in Libya by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).