Turkish, Italian, Libyan leaders discuss joint strategy to curb migration and support Libyan unity

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a conference in Istanbul with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah to discuss migration, collaboration, and Libya’s political stability.

According to a statement published by Meloni’s office after the closed-door meeting, the three leaders addressed boosting collaboration in the Mediterranean region, beginning with migration management.

Meloni applauded the “excellent results achieved” through partnership with Turkey on migration control, stating that the lessons learnt should be applied to strengthen the Libyan Government of National Unity’s migration efforts, according to a statement released by her office.

According to a statement released by Erdogan’s office, “long-term and sustainable” solutions were required to eliminate the root cause of migration.

Libya is a major transit hub for migrants escaping war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Drownings along the country’s shore have been prevalent. In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned off Zuwara on Libya’s western coast.

The Italian prime minister also underlined Italy’s commitment “to Libya’s stability, unity, and independence,” as well as its support for a political process led by Libya and assisted by the United Nations that would lead to elections.

According to the Turkish presidential statement, the three leaders will meet again to assess their conclusions after lower-level technical meetings.

Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the disarray that followed, the country split into rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

Turkey has been allied with the Tripoli-based government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.

In 2019, Turkey reached an agreement with the Tripoli-based government which delineated maritime boundaries between Libya and Turkey, angering Greece and Cyprus which say the agreement infringes on their rights.