This photo taken on Nov. 7, 2026 shows a scene of the 22nd ordinary session of the Executive Council of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) in Tripoli, Libya. The meeting opened in Tripoli on Saturday, according to the Libyan government's Hakomitna platform. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Chad, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau attended the event, alongside heads of delegations from other member states. (Photo by Hazem Turkia/Xinhua)
TRIPOLI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The 22nd ordinary session of the Executive Council of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) opened in Tripoli on Saturday, according to the Libyan government's Hakomitna platform.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Chad, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau attended the event, alongside heads of delegations from other member states.
In his opening remarks, Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah expressed hope that CEN-SAD would serve as an effective regional framework for coordinating efforts to address political, security and economic challenges, while promoting regional security and stability.
Dbeibah called for practical measures to expand intra-regional trade, develop transportation and energy projects, and enhance cooperation in food security, combating desertification and addressing climate change.
CEN-SAD, an African regional economic community and trade bloc, was established in Tripoli in 1998 with six founding members and has since expanded to 25 member states.
During Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty's visit to the Libyan capital, the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the health sector.
According to Hakomitna, the agreement aims to strengthen health cooperation, exchange expertise and resources, and expand partnerships between healthcare institutions of the two countries. ■