At the bilateral talks with Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhameed Mohamed Dbeibah held on January 18 in Misrata, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani immigration was the main topic of conversation.

"We spoke about the problem of immigration, which touches us directly," noted Tajani.

"Libya, like Italy, is a country of transit. Unfortunately, departures from Libya have increased over the past months, and we want to continue strengthening our collaboration. We are also ready to train Libyan police, and we can also work with countries of departure -- I am thinking about Bangladesh -- or of transit like Qatar."

Tajani spoke about the "willingness to fight irregular immigration, and fight human traffickers who are also arms and drug traffickers."

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Situation in sub-Saharan Africa concerning, thinks Tajani

The Italian foreign minister said talks also focused on the "situation of sub-Saharan Africa, which concerns us a lot, especiall the risks of terrorism and irregular migration. At the same time, we also spoke about the situation in Sudan where a war is being fought, which is not discussed enough but was today an important element of our talks, because there are migration flows, thousands of people are fleeing, so we also have to take into account what is going on in this part of Africa and we must continue to cooperate and obtain better results with Libya", he continued.

"We want to increasingly work to ensure stability in Libya, which is an important aspect, and our foreign policy is also made by our companies. I am also the Minister of International Trade, so working alongside businesses is our duty. Political stability is certainly a fundamental prerequisite - we are working so this can happen", added Tajani.

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88 percent of arrivals by sea, recorded by Italy in 2025, hailed from Libya

Tajani took part in a ceremony for the signature of a partnership agreement between the Misrata Free Zone, Terminal Investment Limited of the MSC Group, and the Al Maha Qatari Company for a project to expand the terminal for containers at the local port with the most modern infrastructure.

Misrata thus represents a key stepping stone for the consolidation and strengthening of Italy's presence in Libya.

Last year, Italy registered 58,408 arrivals from the African country, up to 38 percent greater number of arrivals compared to the 42,279 recorded in 2024, representing 88 percent of the total number of arrivals by sea in the country, 66,296.

Faced with this situation, stated Tajani, "we want to continue strengthening our cooperation, and we are also ready to train Libyan police."

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