The Libya Energy and Economic Summit opened in Tripoli yesterday with the participation of several international trade and energy stakeholders, but with the absence of high profile guests that were initially set to be there, namely the top leaders of Italy and Malta.
Launched following the inaugural edition in 2021, the summit aims to “unite the entire energy sector together with other critical areas of the economy with the goal of creating and sustaining partnerships for energy and economic opportunity,” as per the summit’s brochure.
Held in Tripoli’s Rixos Hotel between 13-14 of January, the summit sought to bring “international government and private sector to the table to drive a growth agenda and get deals and partnerships signed.”
Among the the international governments intended to come were Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Maltese counterpart Robert Abela. They were scheduled to participate in the launch ceremony of the summit yesterday, and both were set to deliver opening speeches alongside Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, as shown by the summit’s program agenda.
However, neither of the European leaders attended or even delivered speeches online. It is not immediately clear why Meloni and Abela cancelled their participation. No statement from the governments of Libya, Italy and Malta was issued to explain the reasons.
While the absence of top European leaders was a snub to the Libyan government-sponsored event, Dbeibeh, nevertheless, managed to secure the participation of representatives of key European energy stakeholders including Eni, TotalEneregies, Repsol as well as Malta’s Energy Minister Miriam Dalli.
As the summit convenes for the second day, guests will have multiple panel discussions with speakers such as Rachid Hachichi, CEO of Algeria’s Sonatrach, and Václav Bartuška, Special Envoy for Energy Security for the Czech Republic.