Syria reopens its embassy in Libya after 14 years of closure

On Sunday, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates published pictures of the reopening of the Syrian Embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after 14 years of closure in light of the political and security tensions in the two countries.

The ministry said that the opening took place in the presence of the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asaad Al-Shaibani, who is in charge of running the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the State of Libya, Al-Taher Al-Baour, and the Minister of State for the Libyan Prime Minister’s Affairs, Muhammad bin Ghalboun, and with the broad participation of heads and members of diplomatic missions accredited in Tripoli.

The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) said that the reopening of the embassy comes "as part of a series of steps taken by the Syrian state successively to rearrange and activate Syrian missions abroad and take care of the interests of its expatriate sons."

The number of members of the Syrian community in Libya is estimated at about 200,000 citizens, concentrated in various Libyan regions, especially Tripoli and Benghazi, according to SANA.

Al-Shaibani said in statements carried by the official Syrian agency, “The reopening of the Syrian embassy in Tripoli reflects the importance and status of the Syrian-Libyan relationship, and paves the way for organizing the situation of Syrians in Libya.”