The Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto made a profound statement on Thursday, emphasizing the “urgency to reconstruct Italy’s relations with Libya through peaceful dialogue.”
In his radio statement, which was broadcasted by Italy’s NOVA news agency, Crosetto acknowledged, “The West dismantled relations with Libya post-Gaddafi. It’s now imperative that we rebuild these ties, using dialogue as our primary tool.”
Crosetto stressed that “while such diplomatic journeys might be long and complex, Italy and Libya should strive to manage emergencies effectively, avoid disasters, and try to prevent departures.”
This renewed approach underscores the Italian government’s commitment to fostering diplomatic ties and building a solid foundation for the future of Italy-Libya relations. As the international community watches, the spotlight is on the potential of dialogue as a diplomatic tool to establish stability and strengthen alliances.
Earlier this week, a delegation from the Italian Ministry of Defence held a meeting with their Libyan counterparts to discuss joint cooperation.
The meeting was held in Tripoli, in the presence of the Italian Military Cooperation Committee and its Libyan counterpart. This was the first meeting of the two committees in 2023.
The Libyan Ministry of Defence said that the meeting comes “within the framework of the joint military-technical cooperation between the Libyan and Italian Defence Ministries.”
The two sides discussed a number of issues of common interest, with the aim of developing joint bilateral cooperation.
The cooperation plan for the year 2022-2023 was also reviewed, and the target plan for the year 2024 was prepared.
Notably, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received her Libyan counterpart Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba in Rome, last week.
During their meeting, Meloni said that political stability in Libya is a priority for Italy’s national security.
The Italian PM added that Libya “remains a strategic economic partner for Italy.” She also stressed how important it is “to hold Libyan presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible,” and added that “Italy will continue to work to guarantee the success of the United Nations mediation.
Meanwhile, Dbaiba stressed the need to take actual steps to facilitate the granting of visas to Libyan citizens, indicating the importance of bilateral relations and supporting and developing them in all fields in order to achieve the common interests of the two peoples.