On Sunday, the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Al-Mangoush received the Italian Ambassador to Libya, Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi at her office in Tripoli at the end of his tenure in Libya.
Al-Mangoush praised the Ambassador’s efforts, during his tenure in 2011 and again since 2019, in “strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries.”
She also praised the “role of the Italian diplomatic mission, which did not abandon Libya despite the negative circumstances faced by the country during the past years.”
Al-Mangoush also expressed her best wishes and success to the Ambassador in his future endeavors.
In turn, Buccino praised the “fruitful cooperation he received from the Foreign Ministry and the Government of National Unity (GNU) throughout his tenure, which contributed to the development of relations between the two friendly countries in many fields.”
On Saturday, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani blamed France for removing late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from power in 2011. This resulted in severe instability in the country.
According to the Italian news agency Aki, Tajani confirmed, “The historical relations that bind Italy and Libya give us the right to talk with it about the immigration file. We represent a political force and a leading country in the Mediterranean region, and this also makes it our right to speak with representatives of Libyan politics.”
“We are interested in finding a solution to the issue of illegal immigration,” he said, adding that “thanks to the agreement concluded by (then-Prime Minister) Silvio Berlusconi with Gaddafi, migration flows stopped.”
Tajani stressed that Rome is working for the stability of Libya, and to end the flow of migrants to European countries, especially Italy. As well as highlighting the importance of Libyan energy supplies, and the stability of the Mediterranean. He pointed out that Italy was providing safe humanitarian passages for migrants, and that it needs and does not fear NGOs working in this field. The FM stressed the need for the non-politicisation of this file.