Egypt's withdrawal from Arab League meeting contradicts charter, Libya minister says

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush said yesterday that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s withdrawal from the opening of an Arab ministerial meeting, which she chaired, contradicts the charter of the League of Arab States.

This came in a short press conference that Mangoush, who represents the National Unity Government, held at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo after presiding over the foreign ministers’ meeting from which the Egyptian delegation had withdrawn.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry and his accompanying delegation left the session because Al-Mangoush, who represents an outgoing government, assumed the presidency of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers, according to a statement that was published in the official Egyptian News Agency, MENA.

Al-Mangoush told the press conference: “While we respect the Egyptian Foreign Minister’s withdrawal, we do not agree with it, because it contradicts the charter of the Arab League and Security Council resolutions.”

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She stressed that the Libyan National Unity Government is supported by international covenants, and it was the last transitional national government in the North African state.

She added that Shoukry’s “withdrawal” did not represent the point of view of other colleagues.

“We hope that we will reach an agreement soon and there will be some kind of dialogue on this issue,” she said.

Al-Mangoush is the first woman to chair an Arab foreign ministerial meeting, and it is also the first time that Libya has held the presidency in nine years during which the country has been mired in political division and military conflict.