US President Barack Obama expressed support Wednesday for the Libyan people and their transition to democracy at a meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan at the White House, DPA reported.
Obama also nominated a career diplomat to serve as the next ambassador to Libya, replacing the ambassador who was killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi along with three other Americans last year.
Zeidan met with Obama's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon as well as Secretary of State John Kerry in his first visit to Washington.
"The president reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks against the US mission in Benghazi are brought to justice, and stressed the importance of Libya's cooperation with the ongoing investigation," spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Obama and Zeidan also discussed cooperation to strengthen Libya's government institutions and to bolster security and the rule of law, she said.
Deborah K Jones was nominated as ambassador. She has served with the State Department since 1982 and was ambassador to Kuwait from 2008 to 2011. She is also a scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington and has taught at the US Naval War College.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi on September 11.
The incident prompted political outrage in the United States over early characterizations of the attack by officials as a protest gone awry rather than a coordinated attack. The attack also raised questions about security for diplomatic personnel.
Jones has held diplomatic posts in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Syria.
Her nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.