Libya is Italy's longstanding "friend", premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters at the end of an international conference in Palermo aimed at backing UN-led efforts to end over seven years of turmoil in the lawless former Italian colony.
"Libya is a friend. We are bound by longstanding friendship and economic cooperation as well as cultural ties," Conte said.
In his address to the conference plenary, Conte described the two-day conference as a "new and truly significant step in the complex process of stabilising Libya," while UN special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame called it "a success and a milestone" in its help to "our Libyan friends".
Many of Libya's main political factions attended the conference as well as international power-brokers, but it was snubbed by eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar and Turkey withdrew from the event after it was excluded from a meeting on Tuesday between Haftar and his main rival, Fayez al-Sarraj, premier of Libya's UN-backed government.
Italy is keen to lead diplomatic efforts to end the turmoil in Libya - a major energy partner and departure point for boat migrants since the Nato-backed ouster of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 plunged the country into chaos.
Libya was an Italian colony from 1911-1943
