The Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening. He held talks with Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, according to Italy’s news agency, NOVA.
NOVA quoted sources as saying that Haftar will “make contacts with the Italian authorities.” There is a possibility that he will meet with Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni on Thursday.
Another source told Italy’s news agency, AKI, that Hafter will discuss the Libyan crisis, the upcoming general elections, as well as migrant flows.
“It is expected that the talks will also touch on the military conflict in neighbouring Sudan, and its potential repercussions on migration flows through Libya,” AKI added.
On Tuesday, the Italian Council of Ministers approved a proposal by Meloni and Tajani, with regard to the continuation of the international military missions and the ongoing development cooperation initiatives.
The Italian cabinet also decided to launch four new military missions in 2023 in support of peace and stabilization processes with an eye on Libya, according to the Italian Analisidifesa newspaper.
The resolution was approved following notification to the Italian President, pursuant to law no. 145.
According to the Paper, the approval comes within Italy’s ongoing efforts and development cooperation initiatives outside of national boundaries.
The new missions will include the deployment of military personnel off Libya with a view to supporting the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM-Libya) in enhancing security and control of Libya’s land, sea, and air borders against illicit trafficking.
The geo-strategic framework remains marred by persistent and enduring factors of instability and is aggravated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Italy continues to operate in the enlarged Mediterranean area, its natural projection area, and aims to maintain a naval presence in the Indo-Pacific.
On the one hand, the new ventures confirm Italy’s willingness to mark its presence in its natural geopolitical projection area – through the mission in Libya, most crucially, as well as those in Niger and Burkina Faso.
