Italian Foreign Minister visits Tripoli and discusses more cooperation with Libya’s GNA

BY Libyan Express Jun 24, 2020 - 21:50

Italian delegation meets with GNA officials in Tripoli. [Photo: GNA]

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio made Wednesday an unannounced visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where he held talks with the Head of Presidential Council Fayez Al-Sarraj on bilateral relations and issues of joint interests.

Di Maio and Al-Sarraj stressed “the need to resume the political process and end foreign interference” in Libya, according to a statement released by Al-Sarraj’s office.

Referring to a naval operation launched by the European Union in the Mediterranean to enforce an arms embargo on Libya, Al-Sarraj said enforcement needed to be “global”, covering maritime, land and air routes.

Di Maio, who last visited Libya in January, and Al-Sarraj also discussed the issue of undocumented immigration, and Italian support for demining Tripoli’s war-ravaged southern suburbs.

Anonymous Italian foreign ministry source, cited by the Italian Messaggero daily, said Italy considers Libya “a priority”, saying it is Rome’s most important issue, which concerns its national security.

“We can’t afford a partition of the country. That is why we went first to Ankara, a (diplomatic) channel we’ve always kept open,” the source said, referring to Di Maio’s trip to Turkey on June 19.

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