On Monday, the Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Libya’s Parliament, Youssef Al-Agouri met with the Italian Consul in Benghazi, Francesco Saverio De Luigi. They discussed the issue of facilitating the travel of Libyans to Italy.
Al-Agouri stressed the need to “work on the Libyan-Italian friendship agreement, and to resume works on the Coastal Road linking the east and west.”
He drew attention to the issue of Libyan youth imprisoned in Italy, and expressed his desire to meet his Italian counterpart to strengthen relations between the two committees.
Al-Agouri stressed the importance of the Italian Consulate in Benghazi, and the need for a program to support the teaching of the Italian language.
He explained that “the Italian language is being taught in response to the decision of the Ministry of Education to make it an optional language in Libyan schools. Italy is a friend of all Libyans.”
In turn, De Luigi highlighted the depth of bilateral relations, and his keenness to pursue issues of common interest. This includes marine fishing, and joint cooperation programs.
Notably, the Head of the Italian Senate’s Permanent Commission for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Stefania Craxi said that the “intra-European conflict has opened the doors of Libya to third parties, who have supplanted the European and Western presence.”
“It is a fact that we must fine-tune a new strategy, noting the mistakes made, to move towards a concrete relaunch of our presence in Libya. A move many on the international scene hope for, and would warmly welcome,” Craxi added.
She noted that a revision of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whose legal bases are found in the Italian-Libyan friendship treaty, “is then a tool to relaunch our role in the country. It is addressing not only the migrant dossier but a whole series of issues, including energy. Let’s think of the recent agreement with Ankara on the matter – on which to build our new leadership throughout Libya, not just in Tripoli.”