ITALY’S MELONI VISIT TO LIBYA SAW SEVERAL DEALS SIGNED

Italy‘s PM Giorgia Meloni meeting with PM Dbeibah in Libya‘s capital Tripoli.

Fri 10 May 2024:

Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, visited Libya this week to sign cooperation agreements with leaders from both administrations in the conflict-torn country, local Italian media reports.

According to the report, Prime Minister Meloni first met the head of the Tripoli-based government, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, Libyan officials said.

“Declarations of intent” were signed on cooperation in health, education and research, as well as youth and sports, an Italian government statement said.

The report said the agreement signed between two countries were also to conduct research in renewable energy and ocean-based economic activities and facilitating Libyans’ access to treatment in Italian hospitals, particularly children, when such care is unavailable in Libya.

Migration a key discussion issue

According to sources in the Italian Prime Minister’s Office, Meloni prioritised migration as a key discussion issue. She reportedly stressed the need for Italy and Libya to continue on the path they have embarked on, as it has already yielded significant results, and to have proposed further expanded cooperation on the issue.

Meloni is also reported to have called Libya to be involved in working groups of the so-called Rome Process, with the first concrete projects to be identified in the coming weeks.

Launched by Meloni last summer, the Rome Process aims to coordinate collective action on migration policy, addressing root causes such as conflict, economic hardship and climate change while fighting human traffickers.

Over the past year, Meloni has actively facilitated dialogue between the European Union and Libya, in line with the government’s broader efforts to reshape EU-North Africa relations, particularly on migration.

According to the Interior Ministry, irregular migrant arrivals from Libya to Italy totalled at least 8,271 in the first months of 2024, a significant decrease compared to the same period in 2023, when 18,022 arrivals were recorded.

However, experts suggest that Libyan traffickers may have redirected some departures from Italy to Greece, as evidenced by a sharp increase in arrivals on Greek islands.

To engage with all Libyan stakeholders, Meloni also visited Benghazi to meet with General Khalifa Belqasim Omar Haftar, leader of the Libyan Arab National Army.

Sources from Meloni’s office reiterated the prime minister’s commitment to Libya’s stability, including support for UN-mediated efforts towards consensus on upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libya is currently governed by two rival political-military coalitions: the UN-supported government of National Unity in Tripoli, led by al-Dbeibeh, and the National Stability Government in Benghazi, led by Osama Saad Hammad Saleh, backed by General Haftar.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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