Italy’s premier visits Libya for talks on energy and migration

Italy’s prime minister has arrived in Libya for talks with officials from the country's west-based government that will focus on energy and migration

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Italy’s prime minister arrived in Libya on Saturday for talks with officials from the country’s west-based government that will focus on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union.

Libya is the third North African country that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has visited over the last two weeks as she seeks to secure new supplies of natural gas to replace Russian energy amid Moscow's war on Ukraine. She previously visited Tunisia and earlier this week Algeria, Italy’s main supplier of natural gas, where she signed several memorandums.

Meloni landed at the Mitiga airport, the only functioning airport in Libya's capital, Tripoli, amid tight security and accompanied by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, her office said. She is set to hold talks with Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, who heads one of Libya’s rival administrations, and Mohamed Younis Menfi, who heads Libya's ceremonial presidential council.