EU delegation in Libya to discuss migration, recovery

The talks come amid a dramatic surge in migrant arrivals by sea in Italy from Libya, which has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

28 May, 2021

Libya has emerged as a transit point for migrants wishing to reach Europe by sea. [Getty Images]

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio flew to Tripoli Friday to discuss a strategy to cope with the flow of migrants from Libya to Europe and talk about economic recovery in the war-town country.

Joining Di Maio for the meetings were Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.

They were greeted at the presidential palace by Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush.

The talks come amid a dramatic surge in migrant arrivals by sea in Italy.

According to the Italian foreign ministry, as of 28 May, 14,054 migrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2021, up from 5,024 in the same period in 2020.

In the years since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted and killed long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, war-torn Libya has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Smugglers often pack desperate families into ill-equipped rubber boats that stall and founder along the perilous central Mediterranean route.

In recent years, the European Union has partnered with Libya's coast guard and other local groups to stem such dangerous sea crossings.

Rights groups, however, say those policies leave migrants at the mercy of armed groups or confined in squalid detention centres rife with abuses.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah is expected in Rome for talks with Italian government officials on Monday