Africa Monitoring Desk Islamabad
The Government of National Unity has focused on New Delhi, a nuclear power with growing economic and infrastructural weight, while the authorities in eastern Libya have intensified dialogue with another nuclear power such as Islamabad.
The parallel missions launched in recent days by Libyan authorities towards India and Pakistan highlight an increasingly explicit competition between Tripoli and Benghazi in external relations, in a regional context also marked by the strengthening of Asian influence in Africa.
On the one hand, the Government of National Accord (GNA) has focused on New Delhi, a nuclear power with growing economic and infrastructural clout; on the other, the authorities in eastern Libya have intensified their dialogue with Islamabad, also a nuclear power, on the military and security fronts.
In this context, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Gun, Taher al Baour, concluded an official visit to New Delhi on February 2, during which he participated in the second meeting of the foreign ministers of India and Arab countries and held a series of political and economic discussions.
According to the Tripoli-based Libyan Foreign Ministry, during his mission, Al Baour participated in the inaugural session of the India-Arab ministerial format, which brought together all 22 member states of the Arab League, and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Foreign Minister. Subrahmanyam Jaishankara, discussing the strengthening of bilateral relations in the areas of trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, health and education.
On the sidelines of the institutional meetings, Al Baour met with the heads of several Indian companies operating in the energy, development, infrastructure, and transportation sectors, to explore partnership opportunities and support the implementation of priority projects in Libya. The parties agreed on the importance of maintaining a structured and ongoing dialogue to operationalize the economic agreements.
In parallel with the Gun’s mission in India, the commander of the forces in eastern Libya, Khalifa Haftar, accompanied by his son and deputy commander Saddam Haftar, has begun an official visit to Pakistan, focused on strengthening military cooperation with Islamabad.
According to reports, “Nova Agency” from Libyan government sources, including the head of the parallel government of eastern Libya, Osama Hammad, has reportedly been in Pakistan for several days, although the mission has not been officially announced.
The same sources explain that Hammad’s anticipated presence is part of preparations for economic and security agreements that the parties intend to formalize later, in the presence of Haftar and Hammad himself.
The discussions with Islamabad also reportedly concern the expediting implementation of previously discussed agreements for the purchase of Pakistani aircraft and military equipment, with a total estimated value of around $4,3 billion, as well as other bilateral defense cooperation dossiers.
The two missions, which took place on the same days, highlight the fragmentation of Libyan foreign policy, with Tripoli and Benghazi engaged in building competing and uncoordinated international networks, including in extra-regional theaters such as the Indian subcontinent.
This Libyan dynamism, in turn, is part of a broader competition between India and Pakistan in Africa: New Delhi aims to strengthen its economic presence through energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, while Islamabad prioritizes military and security cooperation, using targeted bilateral partnerships to expand its presence on the continent.
