The foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi (1969–2011) underwent much fluctuation and change. They were marked by severe tension with the West and by other national policies in the Middle East and Africa, including the Libyan government's financial and military support for numerous paramilitary and rebel groups.
The foreign relations of Sudan are generally in line with the Muslim Arab world, but are also based on Sudan's economic ties with the People's Republic of China and Russia.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region. While still referring to most of the Middle East and North Africa together, it is widely considered to be a more defined and apolitical alternative to the grouping of countries that is known as the Greater Middle East, which comprises the bulk of the Muslim world.
The dynamic between the League of Arab States and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been ambivalent, owing to the latter's varying bilateral conduct with each country of the former. Iran is located on the easternmost frontier of the Arab League, which consists of 22 Arab countries and spans the bulk of the Middle East and North Africa, of which Iran is also a part. The Arab League's population is dominated by ethnic Arabs, whereas Iran's population is dominated by ethnic Persians; and while both sides have Islam as a common religion, their sects differ, with Sunnis constituting the majority in the Arab League and Shias constituting the majority in Iran. Since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, the country's Shia theocracy has attempted to assert itself as the legitimate religious and political leadership of all Muslims, contesting a status that has generally been understood as belonging to Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, where the cities of Mecca and Medina are located. This animosity, manifested in the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, has greatly exacerbated the Shia–Sunni divide throughout the Muslim world.
The Libyan–Sudanese relations refers to the long historical relations between Libya and Sudan, both are Arab countries.
The Arab League or League of Arab States was founded by Egypt in 1945, has 22 members and seven observer members so far: Armenia, Brazil, Chad, Eritrea, Greece, Republic of India, Venezuela.
Sudan–United States relations are the bilateral relations between Sudan and the United States. The United States government has been critical of Sudan's human rights record and has dispatched a strong UN Peacekeeping force to Darfur. Relations between both countries in recent years have greatly improved, with Sudan's post-revolutionary government compensating American victims of al-Qaeda terror attacks, the removal of Sudan from the State Department's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism and the United States Congress having reinstated Sudan's sovereign immunity in December 2020.
Sudan has a conflict in the Darfur area of western Sudan. The Khartoum government had, in the past, given sanctuary to trans-national Islamic terrorists, but, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, ousted al-Qaeda and cooperated with the US against such groups while simultaneously involving itself in human rights abuses in Darfur. There are also transborder issues between Chad and Darfur, and, to a lesser extent, with the Central African Republic.
Libya–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the State of Libya and the Russian Federation. Russia has an embassy in Tripoli, with Libya having an embassy in Moscow. Diplomatic contact between Russia and Libya has generally been close and productive, seeing as both countries have had and continue to see volatile relations with the United States. Former Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi was a close ally of the Soviet Union, despite his country's membership in the Non-Aligned Movement. Russia also regards Libya as one of its strongest allies in the Arab world, and has supported stabilization of the country following the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. After the outbreak of new conflict, Russia has primarily backed the Tobruk-based House of Representatives over the UN-backed Government of National Accord and various other factions.
Relations between Algeria and Libya are considerably strained by tensions between the revolutionary National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya and the single-party autocracy of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria. Bilateral relations were generally amicable during Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule of Libya.
Algeria has an embassy in Ankara, and a general consulate in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Algiers. Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean.
In the Arab world, racism targets non-Arabs and the expat majority of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf coming from South Asian groups as well as Black, European, and Asian groups that are Muslim; non-Arab ethnic minorities such as Armenians, Africans, the Saqaliba, Southeast Asians, Jews, Kurds, and Coptic Christians, Assyrians, Persians, Turks, and other Turkic peoples, and South Asians living in Arab countries of the Middle East.
The Arab Spring or the First Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and economic stagnation. From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Rulers were deposed or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām!.
India–South Sudan relations are the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Republic of South Sudan. India recognised South Sudan on 9 July 2011, the day South Sudan became an independent state. India maintains an embassy at Juba, and South Sudan maintains an embassy in New Delhi.
Iran–Sudan relations refers to diplomatic, economic and military relations between Sudan and Iran. For nearly three decades, Iran and Sudan enjoyed a close relationship.
The Libyan civil war (2014–2020), also more commonly known as the Second Libyan Civil War, was a multilateral civil war which was fought in Libya between a number of armed groups, but mainly the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Government of National Accord, for six years from 2014 to 2020.
Algeria over-all has a friendly relationship with Iran despite having had some strains during the Algerian civil war and disagreements on some of Iran's regional policies in the Arab world.
Libyan–Tunisian relations are longstanding between the two neighbouring North African Maghreb states, Libya and Tunisia.
Libya–Morocco relations is the bilateral relations between Libya and Morocco, two Arab-Berber North African and Maghreb countries. Libya has an embassy in Rabat and Morocco has an embassy in Tripoli, which was attacked by ISIS militants in 2015.
Libyan–Saudi Arabian relations refers to the current and historical relations between Libya and Saudi Arabia. Libya has an embassy in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Tripoli, though the Saudi embassy has closed since 2015.
