The Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS) hosted a conference titled "The Future of Libya: Opportunities and Challenges in Building the Nation State" to discuss major developments in the country. According to an official statement, the conference addressed three main points: the evolution of the security situation in Libya, the challenges facing a political settlement, and the economic circumstances in the country with a focus on the petroleum sector. It also addressed the international and regional impact on the Libyan crisis, and the opportunities and challenges generated by these dynamics. It also saw discussions on building a unified Libyan state and Egyptian efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis through a peaceful solution. The Egypt hosted conference was attended by a number of Libyan political figures and MPs representing various Libyan regions and cities. It yielded a number of conclusions, including affirmations on a Libyan-Libyan resolution for the crisis. " The discussions threw into relief the deep connection between Egyptian national security and Libyan national security and they underscored how valuable the Egyptian role has been in helping the Libyan people recover their state, embrace their parliamentary institution and rebuild other national institutions, especially a Libyan national army capable of safeguarding Libyan national security and confronting such pressing security challenges as terrorism, the proliferation of arms, poor border control and the transformation of Libya into a transit hub for illegal migration and organised crime," the conference official statement read. The conference also stressed in its conclusions the need to sustain the Egyptian-Libyan dialogue through the ECSS with participants seeing that forthcoming sessions of the dialogue should focus on significant matters such as the Libyan Constitution and the role that the Libyan parliament can play in this regard, the Egyptian experience in counterterrorism and the lessons it has to offer for the Libyan fight against terrorism, the Libyan reconciliation process, the light that international experiences can shed on how to rebuild Libyan governmental institutions and the role that the Libya parliament can play in this regard, and how to reach a formula for a government of national accord. Earlier this week, a delegation of Libyan MPs has arrived in Cairo to participate in the meeting organized by the Egyptian national committee entrusted with helping Libyans reach a political solution. The committee's meeting comes within the framework of Egypt's efforts to unify the visions of the Libyan parliamentarians, in particular, and to help Libyans reach a political solution to the crisis in their country.
