Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on his new Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Ataf, to "work in close coordination to facilitate national reconciliation in Libya and support the stability of the Sahel region."

This came during a phone call between the two ministers on Wednesday, that dealt with regional files and "the importance of Italian-Algerian cooperation for the stability and security of the Mediterranean region," according to the Italian news agency AKI.

According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tajani stressed "the importance of Italy's cooperation with Algeria at the political, economic and security levels, expressing his hope to deepen the already excellent bilateral relations."

The Italian minister stressed that his country is “determined to expand the areas of economic cooperation with Algeria” by targeting “in particular innovation sectors such as the agricultural industry, biomedical technologies and digital infrastructures.”

He also referred to his government's goal "to make Italy an energy center in the Mediterranean thanks to the privileged relationship with Algeria, our main supplier of natural gas".