Sudan visits Libya ahead of reopening their consulate

On July 27th a delegation from Sudan arrived in the Libyan city Kufra in a step toward reopening Sudan’s consulate, according to the Libya Review.

The consulate is a diplomatic office that will provide services to Sudanese refugees residing in Libya.

Sudan’s consulate in Libya was previously closed down in 2017 by Libya’s eastern government after they accused the staff of carrying out human trafficking practices.

Senior Libyan officials were present for the visit, including the Director of the General Department of Protocol and the Director of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Also present was the Head of Consular Affairs at the ministry’s office in Kufra, who stressed how important this progress is for bilateral relations between Libya and Sudan.

The decision to reopen the consulate was made in hopes it will facilitate services for the large Sudanese community in southern Libya, and improve relations between the neighbouring nations Libya and Sudan.

The ongoing violent civil war in Sudan between the military and a paramilitary group has meant a huge influx of Sudanese refugees fleeing into Egypt and Libya, and the city of Kufra in particular is strained due to this.

On July 28th it was reported that the Mayor of Kufra had claimed that 61,000 refugees resided in the city, which matches the figures of the local population.

This has had an impact on local aid, for example medical and health services.

Libyan authorities have recently been deporting significant numbers of Sudanese migrants as part of their crackdown on migration. On July 18th, 700 detained migrants were sent back to Sudan.

The goal of the visit on July 27th was to finalise the technical and administrative arrangements to reopen the consulate in Kufra, an indication of improving security conditions.

Also demonstrated in this decision by Libya is progress towards restoring trust with neighbouring countries through diplomatic efforts.

Libya Review/New Arab plus agencies/Maghrebi