Egypt has reopened its embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli, after a 12-year absence, marking a rapprochement with the country's western-based administration.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reopened the mission's historic headquarters on Saturday, in the presence of Libya's acting foreign affairs minister, El-Taher El-Baour. The Egyptian foreign affairs ministry in Cairo announced the reopening in a statement.

Egypt closed its Tripoli embassy in 2014, when many foreign missions shut down amid an escalating conflict that saw rival governments set themselves up in the capital and in the east of the huge North African country. The reopening is the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Tripoli since the embassy was closed in January 2014.

A new phase in relations

Mr Abdelatty said at the reopening ceremony that the historical significance of the embassy building "aligns with the deep-rooted human and cultural ties that characterize Egyptian-Libyan relations". He also met Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, prime minister of the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, during the visit.

The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on health cooperation in the presence of Libyan Health Minister Mohamed Al-Ghouj, according to Egyptian reports of the visit.

Libya remains divided between rival political and military centres, and the reopening does not by itself resolve the country's political division. But restoring a direct diplomatic presence in Tripoli marks a new phase in Egypt's engagement with Libya's western-based leadership, after years in which Cairo's closest ties were with the east.