On Monday, the Libyan Parliament-designated Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha met with the Italian Special Envoy to Libya, Nicola Orlando and the Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Buccino in Benghazi.
Bashagha said the meeting discussed the latest political developments in Libya. He added that his administration looks forward to “fruitful” cooperation with Italy in several areas such as security and energy.
He stressed that preserving the unity and stability of Libya would come through Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The meeting comes a day after the Italian Consulate General in Benghazi announced that it has begun granting tourist visas to Libyan citizens.
In April 2021, Italy reopened its consulate in Benghazi. It had closed in 2013, after gunmen attempted to attack the Consul on 12 January that year.
“We are reopening our consulate in Benghazi and we have already nominated Carlo Batori as Consul General, while we are also setting up an honorary consulate in Sebha,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told lawmakers.
“This is to enhance Libya’s newfound unity and to ensure the presence of our institutions in Cyrenaica and Fezzan,” Di Maio said. “Strengthening our network in Libya will be essential in order to reactivate all projects which were suspended due to the instability in the country, and to launch new ones,” he added.
“Italy’s Embassy in Tripoli was the only diplomatic mission that remained open throughout the decade-long conflict in Libya,” Di Maio noted. “We have also okayed the re-opening of Italy’s foreign trade agency’s office in Tripoli, and the Italian Cultural Institute,” he added.
Libya has had two competing governments since March, when the Libyan Parliament appointed Bashagha to replace incumbent PM Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. The PM, who was elected a year ago in UN-backed talks, has refused to cede power to Bashagha.