Egypt Revives Its Tripoli Embassy After a Twelve‑Year Hiatus, Citing Concerns Over Turkey‑Libya Maritime Deal

By Dogyu Lee and the Euronews Doha bureau

Published on 8 November 2026 – 13:50 GMT+1

Egypt restored its historic embassy in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Saturday, as Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty visited for discussions covering trade, energy and the contested maritime boundary.

Libya’s acting foreign minister, Taher al‑Baour, attended the ceremony alongside Abdelatty. The embassy was shuttered in January 2014 following the kidnapping of five staff members, and diplomatic operations recommenced in Tripoli in May 2021.

Cairo has traditionally supported Khalifa Haftar, the commander whose forces control eastern Libya and where an opposing administration is headquartered. In Tripoli, Abdelatty met with Abdulhamid Dbeibah, head of Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Unity.

They explored measures to facilitate trade. Dbeibah commended Egyptian firms and workers for their contributions to Libya’s reconstruction, according to the foreign ministry.

Abdelatty also met Libya’s acting oil minister at the reinstated embassy. He urged accelerated development of gas pipelines between the two nations and of plans to refine Libyan crude in Egypt for export. The Libyan minister announced he would travel to Cairo for additional discussions, according to Libya’s state news agency.

Context Behind the Contentious Maritime Agreement

During his meeting with Dbeibah, Abdelatty voiced Egypt’s objections to the 2019 Turkey‑Libya maritime agreement signed by Libya’s former government in Tripoli. He emphasized that Egypt’s concerns must be considered when defining maritime boundaries, per his ministry. Dbeibah told Al‑Qahera News that representatives from both nations will review the relevant maps and claims at their next meeting.

The agreement establishes a maritime boundary between Turkey and Libya in the eastern Mediterranean, a region where multiple states assert rights to explore for oil and gas. Greece argues that the line disregards the rights of its islands, notably Crete, which lies between the Turkish and Libyan coasts. Egypt and Cyprus likewise contest the arrangement.

Libya’s eastern parliament approved the agreement on 20 October, after years of opposition. The European Union responded the following day, stating that the deal violates the rights of other states and lacks legal effect for them. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan asserted that the agreement is “entirely legitimate, both legally and politically.”

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