Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Libya on Tuesday to sign cooperation agreements with officials from both administrations in the conflict-torn country.
Meloni, accompanied by a ministerial delegation on her second visit to Libya since taking office in October 2022, first met with Abdelhamid Dbeibah, the chairman of the Tripoli-based administration, according to Libyan officials.
The statements include encouraging university exchange programs, conducting research in renewable energy and ocean-based economic activities, and assisting Libyans’ access to treatment in Italian hospitals, particularly for children, when such care is not accessible in Libya.
The accords are part of Meloni’s long-awaited “Mattei Plan,” named for Enrico Mattei, the founder of Italian energy major Eni. In the 1950s, he promoted collaboration with African countries to develop their natural resources.
Meloni secured a large gas contract with Libya, the continent’s richest source of hydrocarbon reserves, during her maiden visit there early last year.
On Tuesday, Meloni also met with Mohamed al-Menfi, the leader of Libya’s transitional presidential council.
After Tripoli, Meloni went to Benghazi to meet with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who backs Libya’s eastern-based administration, “in accordance with Italy’s consolidated commitment to be present throughout Libya and to work with all Libyan actors,” the Italian statement said.
Libya has been plagued by political instability and violence since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
The country is divided between Dbeibah’s UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a parallel administration in the east, supported by Haftar.
Political instability has made Libya a haven for human traffickers, who have long been accused of abusing the thousands of irregular migrants who attempt the treacherous crossing of the Mediterranean to Italy each year.
Meloni promised to take a “new approach” to Africa, notably migration, during a visit to Libya’s neighbor Tunisia, another significant departure point for irregular migration to Europe.
