British Minister of State Cleverly visits Tripoli

The British Minister of State, James Cleverly, visited the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday and met with Mohamed al-Menfi, the President of Libya's Presidential Council.

Cleverly pledged the UK's support and hailed the "important and positive relationship" between the two nations.

"I also wish to publicly express my support for the calls that you have made for foreign fighters to leave Libyan soil, so that you, as a nation, can set your own agenda, enjoy your own sovereignty and govern yourselves," he added.

Speaking in a news conference with the Foreign Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Najla al-Manqoush, he added that the government must ensure an environment for safe, fair and inclusive elections in December, including measures to enable women to participate fully, equitably and meaningfully, as candidates and voters.

Cleverly also announced a UK support project for the electricity grid in Libya by adding renewable energy supplies and using energy efficiency measures, without going into additional details for this project.