Italy underscores need to hold Libyan elections on set time and withdrawal of mercenaries from the country.

Rome, 27 November 2021 (Lana) Italy has re-emphasized importance of ensuring free and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya on December 24,” and withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign fighters from the country as a priority.

This came during a meeting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, held with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in the Italian capital, Rome, on Friday, on the sidelines of the signing of an agreement to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the so-called "Quirinale Treaty".

 The two sides agreed on "close coordination" between Rome and Paris on Libya and the African Sahel region, recalling Italy's participation in the European Tacopa Task Force to combat terrorism in the Sahel region, according to the Italian news agency "Aki".

The two ministers indicated that the meeting was an "opportunity to strengthen coordination on other international issues, starting with the latest worrying developments in the conflict in Ethiopia and its repercussions on the Horn of Africa, and to study areas of cooperation in the main files of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union" in the first half of next year.

Following the signing of the Quirinale Treaty, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed their “common commitment to Libya’s stability.”

"In recent months, relations between Italy and France have intensified, Aki news agency quoted Draghi as saying, noting "the joint commitment in favor of stability in Libya," thanks to the international conference held in Paris this month, chaired by Italy and France side by side with Germany, Libya and the United Nations.

On his part, Macron said: "We fought together for Libya," speaking of the "rapprochement" between Rome and Paris, and added: "We have a lot to do together."

=Lana=