Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday unveiled a multi-year initiative to promote legal migration routes, tackle human smuggling and boost economic growth in North African countries. “Nations that never worked together before now understand that we must cooperate,” Meloni said at the end of the day-long international conference on migration in Rome.
“We are starting a strategic path, other countries will be involved and the work will extend over several years,” said Meloni at a press conference in Rome. The plan is to create a fund to support development projects.
Cooperation projects with the countries of origin of migrants, strengthening initiatives to combat poverty and social protection, job creation and professional training, and combating climate change are some of the points addressed at the conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, explained Meloni. Other conferences like the one in Rome will be held in other countries.
For Italy, a natural bridge between Europe and North Africa, it is crucial to combat illegal immigration and especially human trafficking gangs. “There are criminal organizations that only seek profit and work to destabilize the countries in which they operate,” said Meloni. It is important, above all, to strengthen cooperation between the police forces and the judicial authorities in the fight against human trafficking, explained the head of government.
“Illegal mass migration harms everyone except criminal organizations that use their power to gamble on the lives of the most vulnerable,” said the Italian Prime Minister. She called for “joint efforts and more cooperation in the fight against the network of human traffickers”. In combating migration, the partnership with the countries of origin must be “equal, multidimensional and long term”, Meloni said.
In view of previous initiatives, the Rome conference is “concrete”, assured the prime minister. For example, it gave a donation of 100 million dollars (89.90 million euros) from the United Arab Emirates to cooperation projects. Meloni emphasized that the conclusions of the conference should be sent to the UN secretary general. “From tomorrow we will work on concrete follow-up measures”, assured the Italian Prime Minister.
Before the conference, the Italian prime minister met with the president of Tunisia, Kais Saied. He called for the establishment of a new international monetary fund “to lay the foundations of a new humane system that offers hope and prosperity for all”.
In view of the growing number of migrants and their dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean, the EU and Tunisia have decided to cooperate even more closely in this matter. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Meloni and Saied announced the signing of a corresponding declaration of intent last Sunday in Tunis.
“We must act against human traffickers, destroy their cynical business model. Opening up new legal routes between our continents can create a real and safe alternative to dangerous sea travel,” von der Leyen said in Rome. “We must join forces to crush the criminals’ cruel and illegal business model and educate people about the lies spread by people smugglers,” said the head of the European Commission.
“We want our agreement with Tunisia to become a model, a project for the future, of partnerships with other countries in the region. We want a pragmatic approach, based on common interests and values. We want to find solutions tailored to local realities”, added the German politician.
Von der Leyen sees great opportunities in cooperation with North Africa in the production of green energy. “The whole region has natural resources like sun and wind in abundance and has huge and wide landscapes,” she said, according to the dpa. Generating clean electricity costs at least ten cents per kilowatt hour in the EU, but in Tunisia the cost can be as little as two cents. The country thus has a huge competitive advantage.
Participants at the migration conference in Rome include Tunisia, Turkey, Libya, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the European Union and the IMF. Also present were the President of the Council of the EU, Charles Michel, the head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, and representatives of the main international financial institutions.
Meloni, who has led a right-wing coalition in Rome since October, has so far failed in his efforts to stem the rise in migrants. Around 83,400 people have disembarked so far this year, compared to nearly 34,000 in 2022.