Qatar emir meets Libyan Presidential Council chairman, reaffirms support for Tripoli

The chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council met Qatar's emir in Doha on Wednesday as ties between the North African country's UN-backed government and the Gulf kingdom continue to strengthen.

Libya's Dr. Mohammed Al-Menfi and Qatar's Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani held a session of official talks, in which ways to improve relations between the two countries were discussed, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.

Al-Menfi thanked the Emir for his "continued support" for Libya.

The Emir also affirmed that Qatar would continue to provide support to Libya in order to restore unity and stability to the war-torn country.

Libya was gripped by violence and political turmoil in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

In recent years, the oil-rich country has been split between two rival administrations backed by foreign powers and myriad militias. Eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar was backed by Russia.

After Haftar's forces were routed from the country's west last year, the two camps signed a ceasefire in Geneva in October.

A transitional government and presidential council were elected in Libya in March to lead the country into their parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani paid a visit to Tripoli in May to vow support for the transitional government, called the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Sheikh Al-Thani said at the time that his country supported the UN-sponsored political process "in the hope that it preserves the territorial integrity of Libya and prevents foreign interference in its affairs".