U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Tripoli Saturday, December 17, on the first visit to Libya by a Pentagon chief to study up close the security needs of the new government.

During the visit, which will last only a few hours, Panetta will meet with Defense Minister Osama Jouili and Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib, AFP reports.

"The purpose of my trip to Libya is to have an opportunity to look at that situation up close but to also pay tribute to the Libyan people to what they did in bringing (former leader Muammar) Gaddafi down and trying to establish a government for the future," Panetta told journalists traveling with him.

"There are gonna be challenges here, there are gonna be difficulties, but I think any country like Libya, that was able to do what they did and showed the courage that they did ... I'm confident that ultimately they're gonna be able to succeed in putting a democracy together in Libya."