A two-day Libya conference is starting in Palermo, Italy - an event widely perceived as a counter to a similar gathering organized by France in May - as two European countries compete for the fractured nation's oil and gas assets. The meeting in Sicily is meant to bring together key stakeholders involved in the ongoing turbulence in Libya. The North African country, which once prided itself for high standards of living that were paid for by oil exports, remains in chaos seven years after a NATO-backed uprising ousted long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.