Tripoli government mistakes Italian businessman for Rome mayor

Officials from the Al-Hassi government in Tripoli, as well as the Mayor of Tripoli, have given an Italian business delegation the red carpet treatment in the belief that one of them was actually the Mayor of Rome, the Libya Herald has reported.

The Libya Observer had reported on Saturday that an Italian delegation “including members from the parliament and Mayor of Rome” had arrived in Tripoli in order to “discuss prospects of cooperation”. However, the eight-man delegation, led by consultant and former Northern League MP Irene Pivetti, were simply a team of “entrepreneurs who were invited by Libya entrepreneurs” and the Libya Observer’s claims were “completely fake”, an Italian official told the Herald.

“It is not an official delegation. They are private citizens. They are not Italian MPs or politicians and the Mayor of Rome is still in Rome,” the official said, adding that the group is expected to remain in Tripoli for three days but would definitely not have any contacts with Libyan institutions.

Last year, the disbanded Libyan Parliament that was replaced by the House of the Representatives in an election in June elected an Islamist-backed deputy as the new prime minister, leaving the chaotic country with two rival Prime Ministers, governments and parliaments, each backed by armed factions.