The foreign relations of Libya were largely reset at the end of the Libyan Civil War, with the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and the Second Libyan Civil War. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 15 March 2021 is Najla Mangoush. Although many foreign embassies in Tripoli closed down in 2014 due to the conflict in Libya from 2011 onwards, by the end of 2017 thirty diplomatic missions had reopened in the Libyan capital.Cochrane, Richard (16 November 2017). Kidnap and death and injury risks will remain high in Tripoli(me), despite return of foreign embassies. Jane's Information Group. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
Foreign policy of Libya In its 5 March 2011 "Founding Statement", the council stated, "[We] request from the international community to fulfill its obligations to protect the Libyan people from any further genocide and crimes against humanity without any direct military intervention on Libyan soil." Ali Al-Issawi was designated the Council's foreign affairs spokesperson in March 2011. Mahmoud Jibril later replaced Ali Al-Issawi and was designated as the Head of International Affairs.
The NTC has also called on the international community to render assistance to its efforts to dislodge Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the ruler of Libya since 1969, and his loyalists. Officials have asked for medical supplies, money, and weapons, among other forms of foreign aid. In late June 2011, it proposed using internationally based frozen assets belonging to Gaddafi and his inner circle as collateral for loans, with Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni warning that his government is virtually out of money. The NTC has previously asked for those assets to be unfrozen and transferred to Benghazi, a request officials of the Obama administration in the United States indicated they would try to fulfill.
NTC officials have said that they intend to reward countries that have been early to recognise the council as the legitimate representative of Libya, as well as countries that have been involved in the international military intervention to suppress Gaddafi's forces. Among the incentives the council has offered to these countries, which it considers to be allies, are favorable oil contracts and other economic ties. On 15 July 2011, a council spokesman told members of the Libya Contact Group meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, that his government would not forge any new oil contracts and that an elected government must be in place before new deals could be made.
After anti-Gaddafi forces stormed Tripoli, the Libyan capital city, the information manager at NTC-run oil firm AGOCO said on 22 August that once Libya resumed oil exports, its new government "may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil" and favor Western and Arab countries that supported the uprising against Gaddafi when awarding oil contracts. However, on 23 August, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said his government had been assured that if the NTC took power in Libya, "contracts will be respected" and Brazil would not be punished for its stance. On 1 September, an NTC representative in Paris claimed that the new Libyan government would not award oil contracts based on politics, though he said that a number of Western companies, including BP, Total, Eni, and "major American companies", had a particularly "good track record in the Libyan oil sector".
In November 2025, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt, in coordination with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, called for national unity in Libya.
Foreign policy history
The foreign relations of the Libya under Muammar Gaddafi (1969–2011) underwent much fluctuation and change. They were marked by severe tension with the West and by other national policies in the Middle East and Africa, including the Libyan government's financial and military support for numerous paramilitary and rebel groups.
Diplomatic relations List of countries which Libya maintains diplomatic relations with: #CountryDate123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138—139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166—167168Unknown169Unknown170Unknown—Unknown
Bilateral relations Africa Country Formal Relations BeganNotes24 August 1963See Algeria–Libya relations The NTC occasionally took an aggressive posture toward governments it accused of supporting Gaddafi in the civil war, especially that of Algeria, which it claimed allowed Gaddafi's government to transport mercenaries and military equipment through its territory.
The NTC reacted harshly after several members of the Gaddafi government, including members of his family, entered Algeria and were granted political asylum in Algiers. On 29 August 2011, it said that Algeria sheltering Gaddafi or his family members would be viewed as an "act of aggression". However, while the Algerian government permitted Gaddafi's relatives to remain in the country, it warned Aisha Gaddafi at least twice over political comments she made criticising the NTC while in Algeria.
On 16 April 2012, Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil met with Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika in Algiers. After the meeting, he expressed confidence "that [Algeria] would not shelter those who represent a threat for Libya’s security", an apparent reference to members of Gaddafi's family who were granted asylum in Algeria the previous year. Libyan and Algerian officials also discussed cooperation on border security.12 January 1981See Burkina Faso–Libya relations3 September 1953See Egypt–Libya relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 3 September 1953 when first Libyan Minister to Egypt Ibrahim El-Senoussi present his credentials to General Naguib.
During the Libyan Civil War, it was rumoured that Egypt had sent Unit 777, a special forces division, to clandestinely aid Libyan revolutionaries on the eastern front. These reports were never confirmed, but established an early narrative that the post-revolutionary government of Egypt was seeking to aid a revolution in neighbouring Libya as part of a North African solidarity effort.
Egypt supported the Arab League's readmission of Libya under the NTC in August 2011, officially recognising the NTC on the same day, 22 August, as the pan-Arab organisation, headed by former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby, voted to do so.11 October 1975Both countries established diplomatic relations on 11 October 1975 when first Libyan Ambassador to Ethiopia presented his credentials.4 July 1974Both countries established diplomatic relations on 4 July 1974 when was signed agreement to open an Embassy of Libya in the capital of Guinea Bissau.1 April 1974See Liberia–Libya relations17 November 1972See Libya–Mali relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 November 1972 when the first Libyan Ambassador to Mali, Muhammad Ahmad Mograhi, presented his credentials to President Mousa Traore.
In the aftermath of the Libyan civil war, Malian troops engaged in sporadic battles with Tuareg ex-mercenaries returning from fighting on Gaddafi's side. Authorities in Mali recognised the danger as early as October 2011.
After the death of Muammar Gaddafi, Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré said he accepted the NTC's authority and, together with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, expressed his hopes for "a rapid settlement of the crisis in this country, in line with the aspirations of the Libyan people". In January 2012, Mali became the first African nation to agree to accept prisoners convicted by the International Criminal Court, which wants to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and several other former Libyan regime officials being held by ex-revolutionary groups in Libya.
The unilaterally declared secession of Azawad from Mali, the military victory of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, Ansar Dine, and other rebel groups in the vast Malian north, and the coup against President Amadou Toumani Touré in 2012 were attributed in part to the outflow of weapons from Libya after the war, which purportedly increased instability in the Sahel.9 January 1970See Libya–Mauritania relations8 May 1990 Libya has an embassy in Windhoek. Namibia is accredited to Libya from its embassy in Algiers, Algeria.17 November 1965See Libya–Niger relations Libyan relations with Niger since the formation of the National Transitional Council have been somewhat tenuous, though Niger recognised the NTC as Libya's legitimate governing authority on 27 August 2011.
In early September 2011, a large convoy of Libyan military vehicles that the NTC said included stockpiles of gold bullion belonging to the Libyan treasury, as well as members of the Gaddafi government, crossed into Niger, allegedly with assistance from Nigerien Tuaregs. The NTC called on the Nigerien government to stop the convoy and arrest wanted members of the government, warning of consequences for Libya–Niger relations if it failed to do so. However, after briefly denying the convoy's presence in Niger, the Nigerien government later said it was considering granting refugee status to the Libyans, including military commanders Ali Kana and Mansour Dhao, both wanted by the NTC on charges of crimes against the Libyan people, as they were not sought by the International Criminal Court. A similar scenario played out when Al-Saadi Gaddafi, one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons and a top military commander during the war, entered Niger and was placed under house arrest by the government but was then granted refuge in the country, over the protests of the NTC and its allies. On 1 October, Nigerien Justice Minister Marou Amadou reiterated his government's refusal to extradite Al-Saadi Gaddafi, but said the NTC was welcome to interrogate him in Niamey, Niger's capital. The Nigerien government has officially acknowledged receiving 32 wanted members of the government, but refuses to turn them over to the NTC on humanitarian grounds. On 11 November, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou said his government officially decided to grant Al-Saadi Gaddafi asylum.
After Saadi Gaddafi made comments calling for an uprising against the NTC in Libya, a spokesman for the Libyan interim authority said on 11 February 2012 that Tripoli demanded Niger extradite the Gaddafi son and other ex-regime officials to face trial in Libya. The Nigerien government must send the fugitives from justice back to their home country, the NTC spokesman warned, in order for Niger to "preserve its relationship and interests" in Libya. However, Nigerien government officials rejected the demand, citing the country's policy of not extraditing anyone who could face capital punishment.14 May 1994See Libya–South Africa relations