Cooperation in the fight against illegal migration, training security staff and monitoring of land, port and airport borders was discussed by the Italian Ambassador to Libya Giuseppe Buccino and Interior Minister Khaled Mazen of the new Unity Government of Libya. People traffickers have thrived amid lawlessness since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gadafi’s regime, making the North African country a main conduit for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy and other European countries. Italian diplomatic sources told Arab News that Buccino had a “long and very productive meeting” with Mazen and the Undersecretary for Immigration Mohamed Al-Shaibani. The same sources said that Mazen invited Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese to visit Tripoli “soon, in order to proceed on an immediate high-level follow up.” The meeting follows the visit of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Sunday to Libyan President Mohamed Menfi and the vice president of the Libyan Presidential Council. Di Maio was the first member of an EU government to visit Tripoli since the formation of Libya’s new government on March 10. The body is charged with bringing the war-torn country towards national elections on Dec. 24, and has been granted confidence by the House of Representatives in Sirte. Mazen said in a statement that he “appreciated the approach of the Italian Government during the developments of the Libyan dossier, along with Italy’s support to the Government of national unity which aims to build a real democracy in view of the year-end elections.” In an interview to the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa, the President of the Libyan Parliament Aguila Saleh stressed that “cooperation with Italy is very important as it is the closest European state to Libya and there are so many common interests between the two states. This cooperation must be enhanced.”