It remains essential that the Tunisian authorities continue their action to combat smuggling and trafficking in human beings and to contain irregular departures. Italian sources underlined this on the occasion of Giorgia Meloni's mission to Tunis today, the fourth in ten months. The Prime Minister will meet President Kais Saied in the morning at Palazzo Cartagine, together with the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the Minister of the Anna Maria Bernini University and the Deputy Foreign Minister Cirielli, before flying to Brussels for the European Council.
Tunisia is considered "priority" in the Mattei Plan for Africa. And in the bilateral meeting, as far as we know, three instruments linked to this strategy will be signed: an agreement on direct support for the Tunisian state budget in favor of energy efficiency and renewable energy; a credit line for Tunisian small and medium-sized businesses; a memorandum of understanding between the respective ministries of universities and research, which will provide the framework for cooperation in this area between the two nations. Tunisia, it is underlined, is among the African countries with which Italy collaborates most in the Horizon Europe research program (it received 50.8 million euros in funding) and in terms of rate of graduates in STEM subjects it is second only to Malaysia in the world.
Italy, the same sources point out, continues to be strongly committed to supporting Tunisia, considered a fundamental piece of stability in the Mediterranean and North Africa. And Rome, it is explained, is active in promoting positive relations between the EU and Tunis in support of the Memorandum of 16 July. Meloni plans to continue the dialogue started with Saied on the main bilateral dossiers, from the Mattei Plan to energy cooperation (the Elmed submarine cable will connect the electricity grids of Africa and Europe) and economic cooperation (900 Italian companies in the North African country), starting however from cooperation on combating illegal migratory flows.
It is a central chapter in the relations between the two countries. The Tunisian authorities speak of over 40 thousand people intercepted by sea and land since January. Rome expects this activity to continue and guarantees its commitment to ensuring legal mobility for work reasons, also thanks to the Memorandum in this area signed on 20 October. On the eve of the prime minister's arrival, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights launched an appeal for an "end to the violations suffered by Tunisian immigrants in Italy". "Meloni - stated the FTDES - considers Tunisia only as an advanced border point where controls can be strengthened to prevent arrivals in Italy, whatever the humanitarian cost. He needs it as an electoral card, in Italy and in Europe, to promote the success of the anti-immigration model".