According to a statement published on the official website of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers this Thursday, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received Dbeibah last Wednesday afternoon, who reminded her that the stabilization of this country and its political framework is a priority for the national and energy security of Italy.
The Libyan delegation also consists of Interior Ministers Imad Trabelsi; for Foreign Affairs, Najla el Mangoush; for Transport, Mohamed Shahoubi, and for Communications and Political Affairs, Walid al Lafi, as well as representatives of several of the country’s most important companies.
The two leaders also discussed the importance of holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya as soon as possible, also with United Nations mediation, the note said.
Meloni stressed the long and solid cooperation between the two nations in the energy sector, both in oil and gas, which also represents an important contribution to the stabilization and growth of the North African country.
The President expressed her concerns to the Libyan Prime Minister about the possibility of a significant increase in irregular migration from the coasts of that country to Italy during the summer months and called on him to step up efforts to combat human trafficking.
During the meeting, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and his Libyan counterpart Trabelsi signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation on security issues.
However, several opposition politicians questioned the signing of this deal with the Libyan counterpart, since, according to Italian Left MP Marco Grimaldi, Trabelsi “was linked to migrant smuggling even before he took office”.
In statements to the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, Grimaldi denounced that Libyan and international human rights organizations had described the current Libyan interior minister as “one of the worst violators of human rights and international humanitarian law”.
That lawmaker criticized “the red carpets that Rome is rolling out for the arrival of characters whose business it is to blackmail Italy and Europe on the skin of thousands of people,” the paper said today.
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