On 29 July, Radio France Internationale (RFI) published a report on the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Cairo and Ankara and its potential easing of tensions across Africa and the Middle East. In the report, Libya analysts and experts argue that economic cooperation brought on by the recent reconciliation ‘offers a way forward out of the current tensions in Libya’, and ‘may bring energy security and energy trade’. However, they argue, this may depend on addressing the potential obstacles posed by Turkey's military presence and the deployment of Syrian mercenaries in Libya, which Egypt considers a ‘red line’. The report also predicts that Libya will ‘top the agenda’ when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visits Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming weeks, with the visit ‘seen as symbolically marking a return to normal relations’.
Read the full report here.