On 2 May, Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior (MoI) Emad Trabelsi led a delegation from Libya to an International Coordination Meeting on Border Control and Illegal Migration in Rome involving Italy, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, hosted by Italy’s MoI Matteo Piantedosi. Algerian MoI Brahim Merad and Tunisian MoI Kamel al-Fiqi were also present with their delegations.
Piantedosi thanked his counterparts for the excellent and continuous collaboration already in place and stated that to reduce the flow of illegal migrants, it is necessary to move from bilateral cooperation to a strategic regional approach. He said that at the moment migrants arrive on the North African coast and set off on their journey across the Mediterranean, the ability to prevent irregular migration flows is already compromised. For this very reason, the strategic priority must be to strengthen the stability of land borders, starting with the Sahel.
Trabelsi emphasized that to combat illegal migration, it is necessary to take not only the interests of the destinations into account, but also those of the countries of origin and the transit countries. It was agreed to strengthen the strategy of assisted voluntary repatriation through the implementation of a common control room, which will meet in the next few days, and an improved exchange of information.