Tripoli (dpa) – Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki arrived Monday in Libya's capital, Tripoli, for his first official visit abroad since his swearing in late last year. “This is the first visit from one free country to another free country,” Marzouki said upon his arrival, as he was greeted by head of Libya's ruling Transitional National Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil. Marzouki, a veteran human rights activist, became president in December, almost a year after the ouster of autocratic president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, in the first uprising of the Arab Spring. He was supported for the job by the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, Tunisia's largest party, with which his party is in coalition. Events in Tunisia last year prompted many similar uprisings across the region, including the revolution in Libya that ousted long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and led to the rise of the Transitional National Council. Marzouki saluted the sacrifices made by the Tunisian and Libyan people against former tyrannical regimes, calling on them to show resilience until they are “able to live in freedom and democracy.” Marzouki is due to hold talks with Libya's interim Prime Minister Abdel-Rahim al-Keeb, other senior officials and business leaders. One likely topic of discussion will be border security. Securing the borders have been a challenge for Libya's new rulers. There have been reports of former Libyan rebels crossing the border and firing shots at Tunisian customs officials. The Ras Jedir border crossing was previously closed for several weeks due to the deteriorating security conditions in the area. Marzouki is also expected to visit the cities of Benghazi and Misurata during his two-day visit. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/X3K72 Tags: Diplomacy, Marzouki, Trip Section: Latest News, Libya, Tunisia
