The United States has revealed that it is “actively” working to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Libya following a season of ruptured ties between the countries.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who currently concluded a visit to Africa said on Wednesday but declined to provide an exact time on when the U.S. embassy can be reopened.

Blinken revealed this at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.

“I can’t give you a timetable other than to say that this is something we’re very actively working on. I want to see us be able to re-establish an ongoing presence in Libya.”

“There’s also an important moment where through the work of the UN envoy, there may be, and I emphasize maybe, a path forward to moving Libya in a better direction including getting election for legitimate government, and our diplomats are deeply engaged in that,” Blinken added.

Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf, the top diplomat for the Middle East and North Africa, is currently touring the region, traveling to Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, and Tunisia March 15-25.

Leaf will meet with senior Libyan officials “to underscore U.S. support for UN-facilitated efforts to promote consensus leading to elections in 2023.”

The United States works with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and other international partners to support Libya’s democratic transition, including through national elections.

Relations between the US and Libya predate independence. Before independence in 1951, the US had already developed a significant economic and military presence on its soil.

But the relations have remained turbulent ever since the 19^th century. The US shut its embassy in Tripoli in 2014 and moved its mission to neighboring Tunis following intensifying violence between rival factions. U.S. Special Envoy for Libya, Richard Norland, has operated out of the Tunisian capital and taken occasional trips into Libya.

The North African country is strategic in the global economy as its oil reserves are the largest in Africa and among the ten largest globally.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has called for a review of the country’s 26-year-old constitution to determine its efficiency and whether it has “served the aspirations of our people”.

The president has had his reign threatened with scandals like the Farmgate, the continued failure in the power sector, and anti-government protests by the opposition, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.

President Ramaphosa suggested that there was a need to reflect on laws that had been passed “since the beginning of our post-revolutionary period”.

He made the position while delivering the keynote address on the first day of the three-day national conference on the Constitution titled “Reflections and the Road Ahead”, saying a lot of progress had been made in redressing the injustices of the past since the Constitution came into effect.

“Despite numerous achievements, there are still many challenges in the realisation of the vision, values, and prescripts of our Constitution,” he said.

“The persistently high levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality, corruption, and violence show that our journey to the promised land is far from over.

“The contours of our racist and sexist past still feature in private and public institutions, in business, in access to skills, wealth, and opportunity, and in the spatial configuration of our cities, towns, and rural areas.”

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was approved by the Constitutional Court (CC) on 4 December 1996 and took effect on 4 February 1997.  It is the supreme law of the land. No other law or government action can supersede the provisions of the Constitution.