World Bulletin/News Desk

An Italian parliamentary delegation will meet with members of Libya's Islamist-dominated General National Congress (GNC) on Sunday in Tripoli, sources with the GNC said.

Several members of the Italian parliament, the mayor of Rome and a number of Italian businessmen arrived to Tripoli on Saturday evening and were received by Mayor of Tripoli Mahdi al-Harati and several Libyan officials.

Upon the arrival of the Italian delegation, the mayors of Tripoli and Rome held a meeting where they discussed economic cooperation between the two municipalities, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported

The meeting was attended by several Italian and Libyan businessmen.

On Saturday, Italy's foreign ministry said that it fully supports the initiative of UN special representative in Libya Bernardino Leon regarding a comprehensive dialogue in Geneva between all Libyan factions.

"Over the past months, Leon continued to work with the support of the international community, and Italy in particular, towards resuming the comprehensive dialogue that began with meetings held in Ghadames and Tripoli," Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the press.

"There is no alternative to this process in order to end the current conflict, and prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation," Gentiloni said.

"Next week's meeting in Geneva will be an opportunity that should be seized with courage and determination in the interest of a united, democratic and sovereign Libya," he added.

Libya has remained dogged by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of long-ruling strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

In the more than three years since, rival militias have frequently locked horns, often bringing violence to the country's main cities, especially Benghazi and capital Tripoli.

The sharp political divisions have led to the establishment of two rival seats of government, each of which has its own institutions.

Two assemblies currently vie for legislative authority: a recently-elected House of Representatives, and the GNC, which – even though its mandate ended last summer – continues to convene in Tripoli.

The two parliaments support two rival governments, which are respectively headquartered in the two cities.