Italy praises Egypt’s role in stabilizing Libya
President Abdel Fatah
al-Sisi met Tuesday, Nov. 13 with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte who
welcomed Sisi's participation in the Palermo Conference of Concerned Countries
on Libya's Issue.
"Conte said that Egypt is a cornerstone of achieving
security and stability in the Middle East," Presidential Spokesperson
Bassam Radi declared Tuesday.
Radi noted that Conte asserted Italy's keenness to boost
bilateral cooperation with Egypt amidthe positive developments taking place at
the economic level and the major projects that are meant to contribute to
fostering social and economic progress.
Sisi hailed "positive developments" in the
Egyptian-Italian relations and lauded enhancing the cooperation level in
regional issuesof mutual interest, according to Radi's statements.
"Both leaders discussed various topics including latest
investigations of the murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, in addition
to fostering mechanisms of economic, commercial and investment relations
between Cairo and Rome," Radi added.
At the Libyan issue level, Radi manifested that Sisi and
Conte discussed the latest developments of the Libyan topic, noting that
"Conte expressed deep appreciation of the Egyptian role in restoring
stability, security and supporting the national military institution in
Libya."
Sisi, along with officials from western countries, Arab
states and Russia,attended the conference in Palermo. Sisi and Libyan Military
Commander Khalifa Haftar both skipped the opening dinner on Monday evening,
according to Reuters.
"Haftar had flown to the conference on Monday evening
and was holding meetings on the sidelines, despite having said he would not
participate. A photo showed him meeting Serraj in the presence of Italy's
Conte," Reuters disclosed.
Italy hosts a conference seeking to reconcile Libya's rulers
a week after the United Nations shelved plans to hold an election in December.
Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj met Haftar in the Italian
city of Palermo, an Italian government source told Reuters on Tuesday.
