Article by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kostas Fragogiannis in the newspaper “TA NEA Savvatokyriako” titled “Libya: The unknown neighbour” (17.07.2021)
We were warmly welcomed everywhere, people constantly saying “you are in your second homeland” Should we be surprised? Apparently, the imprint and memory of the ancient Greek colonies in Cyrenaica persists, dozens of centuries later. We quickly seized the opportunity to return the compliment: “If Libya is our second home, then Greece is a second home for all of you.”
Arriving at the central square of Benghazi, the great devastation of the two civil wars during the last decade is very obvious and not easy to hide. Although reconstruction has already begun and much of the rubble has been removed, the old glory has not yet been restored. Some wounds will never heal. A tragic example is the Greek Orthodox Church of Evangelistria that has been damaged and stands today in ruins in the old town, waiting for a miracle.
I visited our neighbouring country a few days ago, fulfilling in a short time the promise made by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his official visit to Libya last April, to attend the inauguration of our Consulate in Benghazi. Mainly however, to convey a message of support from the Greek Government to Libya’s efforts for peace and progress; away from foreign troops and interests; and with the security and prosperity in the Mediterranean being the only compass.
The developments of the last decade may have limited our economic relations, but in reality the Greek business presence in Libya was never interrupted. There are prospects for cooperation between the two countries in sectors such as energy, construction, maritime transport, health. But there are other fields, such as tourism, education, culture, where there is also a lot that can be done. One of the traditional ties between the two countries is, still, that of defense and security. More than 280 Libyan officers have graduated from the academies of the Greek Armed Forces in recent decades, while Libyan Coast Guard officers have been and are still trained at the Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center.
However, the foundation of the new starting point in the relationship between the two countries should be honesty, openness to dialogue and, above all, loyalty to the principles of international legality and International Law. And the condition for any progress to be made is the immediate and full withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from the Libyan territory. After all, this is what all European countries have required. And of course, a very important factor for us is the annulment of illegal documents portrayed as agreements between States but which have no legal force, as the European Council has expressly stated.
Greece is shielding this new starting point between the two countries through the Greek Communities of Benghazi, and Libya in general, which remained in the country during the years of the crisis and are ready to help in its reconstruction. For the time being, their most impressive achievements are the buildings of the Greek community that today house the newly established Consulate and the majestic European School, which did not cease to operate throughout the unrest. In fact, the appreciation that the Greek community enjoys from the local community testifies to the quality of its work, which carries within it the benevolence of the Greek Diaspora “with the varied action of thoughtful adaptations”. The few Greek students live together in harmony with Libyans and students of other ethnicities. After all, participation in Greek education has always been our best weapon.