Africa-Press. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the head of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, discussed enhancing cooperation in the energy sector on Thursday evening, as Italy seeks to diversify its energy sources due to disruptions in the Gulf.
Meloni’s office stated after the talks in Rome that “the leaders discussed ways to strengthen the already solid bilateral cooperation, particularly highlighting economic relations and investment in the energy sector.” They also reaffirmed their joint commitment to managing migration.
Libya is Italy’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for nearly one-fifth of Italy’s total crude oil imports. However, Libya’s gas exports to Italy dropped to about one billion cubic meters in 2025, down from 1.4 billion cubic meters in 2024.
The decline is largely attributed to supply-side constraints in Libya, including rising domestic demand, recurring disruptions in infrastructure, and political instability, which have kept the “Green Stream” pipeline to Italy operating well below its capacity.
Members of the Italian parliamentary security committee visited Libya in late April and discussed with Dbeibah the importance of “increasing investment to allow for a significant increase in Libyan gas production, and thus an increase in exports to Italy,” according to a statement from the committee.
