Kuwait ruler meets Libyan prime minister

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who arrived in the Gulf state a day earlier as part of a Gulf tour.

No further details were provided by the official KUNA news agency about the content of the meeting.

It is not yet clear how long Dbeibeh and his delegation will stay in the oil-rich country.

Mohamed Hammouda, a spokesman for the Libyan National Unity Government, said on Facebook that Dbeibeh’s visit to Kuwait "comes within as part of the prime minister's efforts to unify the Gulf position regarding the Libyan file, and to strengthen the relationship with all Gulf states on the basis of mutual respect”.

According to Saudi-funded Al Arabiya TV channel, Dbeibeh is also expected to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia as part of his tour.

Libya has recently witnessed positive developments following a breakthrough in which rival parties agreed on Feb. 5 on a unified new executive authority that will govern Libya in the lead-up to national elections on Dec. 24.

Mohammad Menfi was chosen as the head of a three-member Presidential Council while Dbeibeh became the new prime minister.

Last month, the Libyan parliament granted a vote of confidence to Dbeibeh’s government with 132 votes of the 133 lawmakers who attended the session.

Libyans hope the new government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara