The Executive Director of the Libya Reconstruction Fund, Belkasem Haftar, discussed joint cooperation and support of the ongoing reconstruction efforts with US Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Berndt.
During a phone conversation, the two specifically talked about the Fund’s strategy to bring about comprehensive development, especially for Libyan cities affected by Storm Daniel which, on September 9, caused severe flooding the next day after two dams upstream from Derna collapsed, killing over 20,000 people.
The torrent of water washed away neighborhoods and damaged critical sewage and water infrastructure that has yet to be repaired, according to the UN.
Berndt reportedly expressed his country’s readiness to “provide technical and logistical support through American companies specialized in reconstruction, as well as their readiness to send experts in the field of geology, study of dams and others for the purpose of technical and logistical cooperation with the Fund’s management”.
In turn, Belkasem Hafter welcomed the role of the United States in “contributing to supporting the reconstruction and development currently taking place in the city of Derna, and expressed his aspiration to develop the partnership with the U.S. in the areas of reconstruction and technical support.”