On the fringes of Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier’s visit to China, a Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement this evening (9 April) in Changsha, Hunan, the evening before the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Hiroshima:

Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier has just been on the phone to Libyan Prime Minister Sarraj. He congratulated him on his decision to take office in Tripoli and on his first successes in de facto assuming power.

To lend concrete support, Foreign Minister Steinmeier made a pledge of 3 million euros of emergency aid to Prime Minister Sarraj to enable the new Libyan Government to put in place security infrastructure that is urgently required. Minister Steinmeier also indicated that a further 10 million euros were now available for a stabilisation fund to be used by the Government to implement immediate and visible reconstruction projects.

Tomorrow’s G7 meeting in Hiroshima is a good and timely opportunity to coordinate the international community’s support for the new Libyan Government.