The French Embassy in Libya officially announced on Sunday that France will host the UN-sponsored international conference on Libya in Paris on Tuesday. An international conference on Libya will be held under the auspices of the United Nations on Tuesday, May 29, in Paris Elysee Palace, the embassy said in a statement. After seven years of conflict, this unprecedented conference, which is a continuation of the efforts made since 2011 by the international community and the United Nations, aims to start a new period of stability and cooperation, expected by all Libyan people, the statement said. Libyan officials and the international community will be invited on that day to engage in the implementation of an inclusive political road map, in order to end the crisis that has affected the country and the region for several years, the statement added. Two weeks ago, France proposed an initiative to the Libyan political parties to hold a meeting in Paris to discuss a plan to end the political crisis. Despite a UN-sponsored political agreement signed by the Libyan rivals in December 2015 and appointment of the UN-backed unity government, Libya remains politically divided between authorities in the east and the west. UN Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, in September 2017 proposed an action plan for Libya that includes amendment of the political agreement and holding presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2018. In a recent briefing to the UN Security Council, Salame urged for focusing on holding the upcoming elections rather than amendment of the agreement. Xinhua
