Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is set to visit Turkey for a second time this year after Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu extended an invitation.
On Friday, the top diplomats will discuss Turkey-Italy bilateral relations and Turkey’s European Union accession process. They'll also exchange views on current regional and international developments, as well as the fight against COVID-19, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Within the scope of regional issues, the developments in Libya, as well as hydrocarbon exploration and drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean will likely come up during the meeting.
The situation in Libya has worsened in recent months due to the increasing machinations of foreign powers in the country, despite pledges at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year to desist from military support.
Putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s offensive on the capital Tripoli has deeply polarized the already divided country while U.N. efforts to hold a peace conference more than a year ago have been aborted.
Haftar's forces are supported by Egypt, France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries.
Turkey, Italy and Qatar, on the other hand, back the United Nations-recognized government in Tripoli.
