Dutch to send envoy to Libya 3 years after closing mission

The Netherlands will send a permanent envoy to war-ravaged Libya, three years after closing its embassy in Tripoli for security reasons, the foreign ministry said.

But ministry spokesman Chris Bakker said it was "too early to re-open the embassy in the Libyan capital".

The decision was taken yesterday after a meeting between Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and his Libyan counterpart as well as the Libyan prime minister.

"This is an important first step to being represented once again in Tripoli at the diplomatic level," Koenders said, adding that a permanent diplomat was needed to follow the "complex situation" in the North African country.
 

The Dutch government had closed its mission in Tripoli in July 2014.