France, Tunisia to strengthen cooperation on migration

French Prime minister Jean Castex was in Tunisia on Thursday, as the French government aims to increase its cooperation.

Jean Castex met with his Tunisian counterpart Hichem Mechichi in capital city Tunis.

Both delegations signed several agreements, and discussed crucial issues, such as the fight against terrorism, the stabilisation of Libya and Middle East but also illegal migration, the main concern of European countries, that has been on the top of the negotiations between the EU and several African countries for several years.

"In this context, I recalled the need, for France as well as for its European partners, to strengthen cooperation with Tunisia in the area of migration and in particular the indispensable control of irregular migration flows," French Prime Minister Jean Castex said during a joint press conference.

Just one day before the French Prime Minister landed in Tunis, two boats loaded with migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia. Two bodies were recovered and as many as 20 others are stil missing

"On this occasion, we renewed the determination of the two countries to strength the existi ng cooperation between us to fight against terrorism and crime with more coordination in the field of security, training and the exchange of experiences, as well as with the development of judicial cooperation and its mechanisms," Tunisian Prime Minister, Hichem Mechichi added.

"There were also talks about the cooperation to manage an organised migration in accordance with the Agreement on Consensual Management of Migration and Uniform Development of 2008 and according to an integrated approach, that takes into account all the requirements of the agreement in order to strength the Tunisian-French cooperation"

Jean Castex also met with Tunisian President Kais Saied, as France reiterated its promise to help Tunisia in the fight against COVID-19 and to support the economic reforms needed to overcome the crisis deepened by the pandemic.