President Erdogan welcomes Libyan parliament's approval of maritime deal with Türkiye

By Seyit Kurt

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday welcomed Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives' approval of a maritime jurisdiction agreement between Türkiye and Libya.

"The Libyan House of Representatives approved the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas between Türkiye and Libya. I hope this important decision will be beneficial," Erdogan told a parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital Ankara.

Libya's House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved the memorandum of understanding signed between Türkiye and Libya's then-Government of National Accord in 2019 on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.

The eastern-based parliament also repealed a 2020 resolution rejecting the ratification of agreements signed with Türkiye, reversing its previous opposition to the maritime deal.

Türkiye and Libya signed the memorandum in November 2019 to establish the boundaries of their respective maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.

Erdogan also addressed the defense cooperation between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, saying their joint defense agreement had been submitted to the Turkish parliament for ratification.

"We have submitted the joint defense agreement we signed with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to our parliament for ratification," he said.

Seyit Şamil Kurt