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Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni has said he has reached a deal with Libya to try to stop people from setting out from Libyan shores in huge numbers for Europe.
Mr Gentiloni told reporters after meeting Libyan premier Fayez Serraj in Rome on Thursday that the two sides signed a memo of understanding to step up co-operation and, with Italian assistance, help fight the migrant trafficking.
A European Union summit in Malta on Friday is focused on finding ways to reduce the number of migrants leaving from Libya.
Italy’s Coast Guard has co-ordinated the rescue of hundreds of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean near Libya in the last few years.
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Mr Gentiloni called the deal “just a piece” of a wider plan that will be discussed in Malta and will need economic commitment from the bloc.
Mr Serraj said economic deals between Italy and Libya are being discussed.
– AP