BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:05 P.M.) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO will help the Libyan government build effective defence and security institutions in the northern African country, speaking to press in Brussels, Thursday, following a meeting with Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj earlier that day.

Stoltenberg said that it is essential to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis and that therefore NATO has agreed to help the northern African state. He explained that a team of NATO experts recently met with Libyan government representatives to discuss what we can do to help you build an effective defence and security institutions in Libya, including a modern Ministry of Defence, a joint military staff, and intelligence services under civilian control.

The NATO Secretary General added that the main purpose of the meeting today [was] to make sure our experts will sit down as soon as possible, hopefully within a few weeks.

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Libya has been wracked by security issues since former President Muammar Gaddafi was ousted from power in 2011, with international diplomats making a plea to stop hostilities between the LNA, led by General Khalifa Haftar, and the GNA, in a bid to avoid escalation between the two sides.

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Belgium: NATO agrees to help build security institutions in Libya - AMN Al-Masdar News (registration)