Ansa reported that Rome called a meeting for the Libyan-Italian joint committee to amend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on illegal immigration that was signed between Italy and Presidential Council's government in February 2017.

The MoU ended on November 02 but automatically renewed as per the regulations agreed upon by Italy and Libya.

The MoU allowed the Libyan coastguards to have better capabilities at sea in terms of operations and interception of illegal immigrants.

Ansa added that Italy wanted to keep the MoU as it is and called for negotiations with Libya on amendments.

According to former Italian Interior Minister Marco Minitti, Libyan coastguards would be able to operate at sea and intercept illegal immigrants who wish to arrive on Italian islands.

On Thursday, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio told the Parliament that the he backed the terms of the MoU, saying they can amend it but cannot deny it helped drop the number of deaths and drownings at sea.