Brussels, The Vice President of the Presidential Council, Musa Al-Koni, discussed in the Belgian capital, Brussels on Wednesday with the Special Representative of the European Union for the Sahel Emmanuel Claudia Del Re joint Libyan-European strategic cooperation in the Sahel region, to confront the threats of illegal immigration, terrorism and extremist groups that feed on unrest in the region.

During the meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the European Union, Al-Koni stressed importance of adopting spatial development programs and investing in human resources, especially young people, through training, scholarships, job opportunities, opening better prospects towards a stable future, and keeping them away from the hotspots they might be drawn into.

The climatic and economic drought will push the youth of the region to take rugged and dangerous roads to enter the future, in the absence of the necessary response to their expectations, and the repercussions of this will be very dangerous when smuggling or human trafficking, and the weapons they will be dragged into, is what feeds extremist groups in neighboring regions and the Sahel region in general, with all the worrying repercussions on the security and stability of Libya and the entire region, he added.

On the problem of the withdrawal of mercenaries and armed factions from the south of Libya, which took a great deal of space, Al-Koni stressed the need to deal with this form with wisdom and statesmanship that goes towards a peaceful solution, and to avoid military clashes that may create more unrest and turmoil in Libya and in the region.

On her part, Del Rey considered the meeting with the deputy President of Presidential Council as an a good opportunity to draw an integrated map of the complex relationship of problems of the Sahel region, all the way to the southern borders of the Mediterranean through Libya.

The European official stressed the importance of unifying the efforts, strategies and programs of the European Union in Libya with those in the Sahel region, which would create a difference towards effective solutions.

The meeting of the Vice President of the Presidential Council, Musa al-Koni, with the European Union’s Special Representative for the Sahel comes in the context of his expanded discussions with European Union officials, which focus on Libyan-European relations and ways to develop them in various files of political, security and economic cooperation.

Source: Libyan News Agency