Democratic Libya is key to stabilizing Sahel region – European parliament president

Libya

President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani has reiterated the importance of a democratic Libya in ensuring stability in the wider Sahel region of Africa.

Libya has in the last few years been a key route through which irregular migration has flourished in addition to the activities of human traffickers who endanger the lives of migrants.

The European Parliament is due to hold a conference in support of polls slated for the country currently split along two main rival governments.

“Apart from Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania are also our key partners to reach a solution to the Libyan crisis.

“Consequently, I invited representatives from these countries to participate in the conference in support of the organization of democratic elections in Libya that the European Parliament will organize in Brussels on 10 October, “ Tajani announced.

Tajani in his recent visit to Niger praised the efforts of Niamey at stemming the flow of illegal migrants, a move he described as a model for other neighbouring countries.

“Until 2016, 90% of irregular migrants travelled through the Niger to Libya and Europe. In just 2 years, Niger reduced migration flows by 95%, from over 300,000 to about 10,000 in 2018.

“We need to support this model and extend it to other Sahel countries following the example with Turkey, where we committed 6 billion euros to close the so-called ‘Balkan route’,” Tajani noted at the end of his visit.