Italian FM meets Libyan counterpart in Rome

ROME, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met with his Libyan counterpart Najla al-Mangoush here on Thursday.

"In our meeting I reiterated Italy's commitment to the stabilization of Libya through a process guided by Libyans and supported by the United Nations," Di Maio said in a joint press conference published on social media after the talks.

"Italy is open to cooperation with Libya to provide essential services to the Libyan people," Di Maio said.

"I confirmed the imminent reactivation of the Italian consulate in Benghazi," he added. "This confirms Italy's commitment to Libya's territorial integrity."

Thursday's talks were aimed at "consolidating the already existing privileged bilateral partnership between our two countries," Di Maio added.

"Libya's relations with Italy are close and historic," al-Mangoush said.

"Based on the solid friendship between our two countries we will continue our cooperation in the political, economic, cultural, social and security sectors," she said.

"We hope for the return of Italian businesses ... and that relations between entrepreneurs in both countries can resume," she added.

"We hail the opening of the Italian consulate in Benghazi, and we hope that it will be the start of a new chapter between our two countries," the Libyan foreign minister said.

Her visit came on the heels of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi's April 6 trip to Tripoli.