By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 22 May 2013:
Libya is considering using Turkish military expertise to boost its border security as well as stepping . . .[restrict]up military training and rebuilding institutions within the armed forces.
The Defence Committee of the General National Congress today met the Turkish Ambassador Kemal Aydin to talk about closer military ties.
Aydin confirmed that Turkey is ready to provide greater support in military reconstruction. As a first step, both sides agreed that the GNC’s Defence Committee chairman and other members should go to meet the Turkish parliament’s military and security committee in Ankara.
Turkey has already contributed to the rebuilding of the Libyan police force. In the early days after the Revolution, it provided police cars, uniforms and security equipment. More recently it trained 817 Libyan police cadets in a demanding seven and half month course at the Adile Sadullah Mermerci Police Training Centre in Istanbul.
Turkey has one of the world’s largest standing armies with 402,000 soldiers, 325,000 of whom are conscripts, serving for up to 15 months. [/restrict]