At the close of August 2025, Libya sent clear signals that it wants to occupy a different place on the international stage. The participation of its delegation in the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) marked a turning point in its foreign policy: it met with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, securing concrete commitments in education, human capital development, and technical cooperation.
“Developing human resources is essential for Libya to stabilize and prosper,” declared Takeshi Iwaya after the August 21 meeting in Yokohama with Libya’s interim foreign minister, El-Taher El-Baour. Japan confirmed it will open spots for Libyan students in its universities, promote technical training programs, and strengthen cooperation through JICA.
The Vice President of the Presidential Council, Abdullah Al-Lafi, added in his meeting with Prime Minister Ishiba: “Our reconstruction will not be only of buildings; it will be of people. We need engineers, doctors, technicians, and teachers. Japan understands that priority and is willing to accompany us on this path.”
Libya’s economy still depends on oil — in January 2025 it reached 1.4 million barrels per day — but the message it carried to Tokyo was clear: diversify to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. The dialogues included discussions on housing projects, digital security, and the reconstruction of devastated cities. Japanese companies have shown interest in participating in projects in Derna and Benghazi, combining investment with knowledge transfer.
The visit to Japan adds to other recent moves: the reopening of consulates, the resumption of international flights, and participation in African and Mediterranean forums. Libya seeks to reinsert itself into the world not only as a crude exporter, but as a country willing to claim its place in the multipolar agenda of cooperation and democratic transition.
However, on September 2, the very day Libya consolidated its cooperation agenda in Tokyo, a car bomb shook Bani Walid. Militia violence remains present, reminding all that the transition is fragile and far from linear. Yet the narrative Libya wants to present to the world is different: that of a country which, despite its wounds, is building diplomatic bridges and opening paths of development.
In sum, August ended for Libya with a powerful gesture: Tokyo as a stage of legitimacy and international trust. Japan becomes a strategic partner for reconstruction based on education, training, and technical cooperation — not only oil. Libya’s diplomatic reconfiguration is underway, and although the noise of violence still resounds, the prevailing image is that of a country seeking to carve out its place between rubble and hope, determined to sustain its transition with allies who believe in the future of its people.
