A political agreement is the cornerstone for restoring stability in Libya, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told the chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council Fayaz Al-Sarraj during a meeting in Cairo on Sunday. In an official statement, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said El-Sisi received Al-Sarraj in the Egyptian capital, where El-Sisi was presented with the latest developments in the Libyan political scene. El-Sisi and Al-Sarraj also discussed Egyptian efforts with different Libyan factions to support political resolutions as the only acceptable solution domestically, regionally, and internationally. The Egyptian president stressed the importance of continued efforts for political reconciliation, as well as efforts to help the UN envoy to Libya in his mission in the country for correspondence on different issues. El-Sisi called on Libyan factions to uphold the country's supreme national interest over any other interests. Efforts to unify the Libyan military were also discussed during the meeting, with both El-Sisi and Al-Sarraj agreeing on the importance of boosting international efforts to combat terrorism. From his side, Al-Sarraj expressed his gratitude for "exceptional Egyptian efforts aiming to achieve peace and security in Libya, especially through hosting ongoing meetings for the Libyan army's delegations." Since late 2016, Egypt has been hosting a series of negotiations between the rival Libyan factions, stressing in these meetings the need for a political consensus to end the war. Last September, Egypt was chosen by the Libyan Armed Forces to be “the starting point of reorganizing the country's army, as it was at its initial foundation” following a Cairo-hosted Egyptian-Libyan committee meeting in which a range of Libyan military officials discussed why the Libyan armed forces have faced development and unity crises over the past seven years. Following the 2011 uprising, Libya fell into civil war with two rival governments emerging, one in the western city of Tripoli and another in the eastern city of Tobruk.
