Egypt Reopens Embassy in Libyan Capital Tripoli After 12-Year Closure

Egypt’s embassy in Tripoli has reopened after a 12-year closure, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty presiding over a ceremony at the mission’s historic headquarters in the Zawiyat Al-Dahmani neighbourhood. Libya’s acting foreign minister Taher Al-Baour attended the reopening.

The building dates to the first half of the 20th century, during Italian colonial rule, and became the permanent headquarters of Egypt’s diplomatic mission in the 1950s following Libya’s independence. Designed in an Italian colonial style with prominent arches and columns, it was later acquired by Egypt and has since undergone maintenance and renovation with support from Libyan institutions.

Abdelatty said preserving the embassy at its original premises carries historical and diplomatic significance, describing the building as part of Tripoli’s cultural memory. His visit also marked the first bilateral trip by an Egyptian foreign minister to Tripoli since 2011.

During the visit, Abdelatty met Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah to discuss bilateral cooperation and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on health cooperation, aimed at expanding exchanges of medical expertise and links between healthcare institutions. He was also in Tripoli for the 22nd ordinary session of the Executive Council of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States.

Egypt evacuated its diplomatic mission in January 2014 after five Egyptian diplomatic personnel were kidnapped in two incidents. Although the diplomats were released later that month, the embassy remained closed as security conditions worsened. The unoccupied building was subsequently looted in October 2014 and damaged by a car bomb the following month.