TRIPOLI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah met with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio here on Sunday, discussing the two countries' cooperation and the immigration issue.

The two sides talked about the establishment of a joint committee to reconnect their commercial ties, with Di Maio saying that Italy is willing to upgrade the bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, said a statement of Libya's new government.

Dbeibah said that illegal immigration is an international issue not related to Libya only and needs solidarity from the countries of the origin of immigrants to the countries of destination, according to the statement.

Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of immigrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores, in order to escape insecurity and chaos that have plagued Libya since the fall of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Di Maio has become the most senior Western official to visit the North African nation after the new Government of National Unity took power, according to the Associated Press. Enditem