On Friday, the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, said that his country will work together with Turkey to enable elections in Libya, according to Italy’s Nova News Agency.
“Turkey and Italy will work together in favour of holding the elections in Libya,” Tajani said during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, in Ankara.
Tajani added that the political decision that Italy made is to work with Turkey to stop “illegal” immigration flows. He added that the Italian and Turkish Interior Ministers will talk about the immigration file next week.
“We will work with Turkey in Libya. We will work to combat terrorism. I also talked – with Çavuşoğlu – about combating climate change because if agriculture is affected by climate change, young people who work in agriculture and herding are potential terrorists who can be recruited by al-Qaeda,” the Italian top diplomat said.
Tajani pointed out that Rome will implement and develop joint initiatives with Turkey. He cited Ankara’s decision to impose entry visas for citizens from Bangladesh who also use Libya to try to enter Italy illegally.
Last month, Tajani noted that “Libya is a country with very strategic importance for Italy.” He affirmed that Italy shares the hope that elections will be held soon, with the United Nations (UN).
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, he revealed his desire to visit Libya, provided there is a clear path leading to elections.
“We’ll get there (Libya) sooner or later, but first we need a clear plan leading to elections. Libya’s stability is essential also for the migration issue,” the Italian Foreign Minister stated.
Tajani explained that the presence of a unified government in Libya is necessary to curb the fight against “illegal” immigration, in addition to stopping abuses.
In November, he expressed his concern about the situation in Libya. At the opening of the 15th Conference of Italian Ambassadors in Rome, Tajani said that “there is a great concern and we are working intensively on the diplomatic level on the Libyan issue.”
“We are working with all countries in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa because we consider them a priority to solve the migration issue, and Italy has close relations with the Mediterranean, not only geographically but also historically,” he said.