Summary:

On Wednesday, 30 November 2022, the Libyan Prime Minister visited Tunisia to discuss economic, political, and security cooperation with President Kais Saied. The visit by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah reportedly came following an invitation from President Kais Saied. The visit included additional meetings with Prime Minister Najla Bouden and Minister of Foreign Affairs Othman Jerandi, during which discussions touched on facilitating cross border business, including increasing accessibility at the main land border crossing and exploring the opening of a sea transport line. Libya also affirmed its commitment to repay debts accrued to Tunis primarily through medical services and utilities provided to Libya during the intermittent fighting of the past decade.

Outlook:  

Libya and Tunisia have both shown interest in substantively moving the relationship between the two countries forward, including Libya’s recent donation of fuel to Tunisia. Recent discussions of the opening of a free trade zone point to the mutual interest and benefit for both countries if they can cooperate. Currently, the shared border remains vulnerable to incursion by smugglers whose routes can also be leveraged by extremists looking to move weapons across the Sahel. We are continuing to monitor the evolution of diplomatic and economic ties as the current Libyan government works toward establishing itself regionally.