Today, I had the pleasure of meeting the Libyan Chargè d’Affaires, Khaled Jweda at the Libyan Embassy in London.

We spoke about a range of issues including the current political situation in Libya and the political instability the country has seen throughout the last decade. It is an issue of great concern to many of my constituents and I made sure these concerns were heard by Mr Jweda to see how we could work together to best support the Libyan community in Manchester.

We also spoke about the importance of tackling climate change in light of the tragic tsunami-like flooding in 2023 that devastated Al Bayda, Al Marj and in the coastal city of Derna. More than 4,300 people were tragically killed by the storm, which caused dams to burst and destroyed buildings.  Five months on from the storm, families are still reeling and communities are struggling to build back due to lack of proper infrastructure and adequate support from authorities.

A recent report from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRA) found that climate change has made heavy rainfall in north-eastern Libya up to 50 times more likely to occur than it would have had climate change not accelerated so much. This, combined with a a lack of proper infrastructure in flood-prone regions, has led to more extreme weather events taking place in Libya, leading to a catastrophic loss of life. Mr Jweda and I were in agreement that more must be done by to support those most affected by this catastrophe. The international community, including the UK, has an obligation to support climate vulnerable countries like Libya.

It was a pleasure to meet with Mr Jaweda and I look forward to working together in support of the Libyan community in Manchester.