By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Libya has signed a hosting agreement with the African Union Commission for the Fourth Africa-Türkiye Partnership Summit, scheduled to take place in Tripoli on December 8-9.
The agreement was signed in Addis Ababa on July 28 by Abdulhakim Ghaith, a senior official at Libya's Foreign Ministry, and Steve Lalande, the African Union Commission's director for partnerships and resource mobilization. Libya's Foreign Ministry said the document provides the formal basis for preparations with Türkiye and the African Union.
Taher al-Baour, who is tasked with managing the Government of National Unity's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, discussed the summit on August 3 with Türkiye's Ambassador to Libya Güven Begeç. Their meeting also covered bilateral relations and Libya's political process.
Libya was selected as host in 2024
The decision to hold the summit in Libya predates the hosting agreement.
A joint communiqué adopted by Türkiye, the African Union and participating foreign ministers in Djibouti in November 2024 called for the Fourth Africa-Türkiye Partnership Summit to be held in Libya in 2026. The Addis Ababa agreement now sets Tripoli as the venue and December 8-9 as the dates.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed in April that the summit would take place in Libya before the end of 2026, placing it among Ankara's principal diplomatic engagements with African states this year.
The meeting will follow summits held in Istanbul in 2008, Malabo in 2014 and Istanbul again in 2021.
The 2021 summit produced a joint action plan covering 2022-2026, with cooperation organized around peace and security, trade and investment, education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, technology and institutional ties.
With the current action plan expiring this year, the Tripoli summit is expected to establish the next program of cooperation rather than serve only as a review meeting.
Tripoli seeks a larger African role
Hosting the summit will bring African Union institutions, African governments and Türkiye to a country that remains divided between competing political and security centers.
The Government of National Unity sees the event as an opportunity to strengthen Libya's position in African diplomacy and demonstrate that Tripoli can organize a meeting involving dozens of states despite the country's unresolved institutional divisions.
The summit does not confer broader international recognition on the Tripoli-based administration or settle Libya's political conflict. It does give the government responsibility for one of the largest diplomatic gatherings held in the capital in recent years.
The choice of Libya also joins two established strands of Ankara's foreign policy. Türkiye has expanded its African presence through diplomacy, trade, contracting, aviation, education, defense cooperation and development programs. Libya remains central to its North Africa policy and to Turkish economic and security interests in the Mediterranean.
The summit's detailed agenda, level of participation and draft documents have not yet been released. Preparations will continue among Libya, Türkiye and the African Union Commission ahead of the December meeting.
Sources: Libya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Libyan News Agency, Türkiye's Foreign Ministry, African Union, Bosphorus News review and reporting.