Tunisia: Italian, Tunisian PMs discuss migration

Illegal immigration to Europe took central stage during talks between Italian Head of Government Giuseppe Conte and his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed in Tunis on Friday.

Tunisian Prime Minister said at a joint press conference, that his country was making “a lot of efforts to fight illegal immigration”.

He announced that more than 9,000 people had tried to leave Tunisia illegally since January.

Tunisian Prime Minister, Youssef Chahed, said the government has made strides in its fight against clandestine migration. “Tunisia is making many efforts to combat illegal migration. Let me give an example: since 1 January we have been able to identify more than 9,000 attempts to cross to Europe. About 1,300 attempts to cross borders have been aborted. But of course, we need a much deeper approach.”

The Italian Ministry of Interior, records that about 4,500 Tunisians arrived in Italy illegally during the first eight months of the year.

“I have confirmed to the Tunisian government, Italy’s support for reducing illegal migration, and for the surveillance of maritime borders to combat this phenomenon of human trafficking,” Giuseppe Conte said.

Giuseppe Conte also met with Tunisian President Caid Essebsi. The duo renewed pledges to counter illegal immigration and insecurity.