Erdoğan, Meloni, Dbeibeh agree on energy and migration plans at Istanbul summit

Leaders of Türkiye, Italy and Libya met in Istanbul on Friday, pledging deeper cooperation on energy, migration and regional stability.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh in Istanbul for the Türkiye-Italy-Libya Cooperation Summit, which focused on growing regional challenges and coordination across the Mediterranean.

According to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, President Erdoğan stressed the need for sustainable, long-term solutions to irregular migration, underlining that root causes must be addressed through coordinated multilateral efforts. The summit concluded with an agreement to reconvene after committee-level meetings to review progress and maintain momentum.
 

Türkiye and Libya’s June 2025 energy deal was highlighted as a key pillar of trilateral cooperation. The agreement involves 10,000 kilometres of seismic exploration across four offshore zones, with Türkiye providing technical expertise and Italy expected to play a key role through infrastructure such as the Greenstream pipeline.

Libya’s role as the main departure point for irregular migration to Europe also featured heavily in discussions. Italy has recorded more than 21,000 arrivals from Libya in 2025 so far — an 80 percent increase over the previous year. Leaders agreed on the need for coordinated humanitarian and security responses to manage the growing crisis.

Cooperation between NATO allies Türkiye and Italy has expanded in recent years. In early 2025, Turkish drone producer Baykar and Italy’s Leonardo signed a defence cooperation agreement, a signal of strengthening industrial and military ties.

The summit reaffirmed support for a UN-led political process in Libya. Türkiye and Italy have both publicly backed a Libyan-owned roadmap to unify the country and hold long-delayed elections. Libya remains split between administrations in Tripoli and Benghazi, with repeated diplomatic setbacks over the past years.

Türkiye’s involvement in Libya dates back to its 2019 agreements with the Tripoli government and subsequent military support against eastern commander Khalifa Haftar. That intervention helped stabilise western Libya and facilitated the formation of the current unity government.

Friday’s meeting is part of Türkiye’s wider diplomatic strategy in the Mediterranean, focused on energy, defence, and managing migration.

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