Tunisia-President Saied and Conte address Inter-Libyan dialogue and irregular migration

President of the republic Kais Received a phone call from President of the Italian Council, Giuseppe Conte. The conversation addressed several topics notably bilateral relations between Tunisia and Italy and ways to strengthen them in all areas. The inter-Libyan political dialogue, scheduled to take place in Tunisia next week was also at the heart of the telephone conversation as Conte expressed his “total support” and wished full success to it.

The head of the state affirmed that “the resolution in Libya can exclusively be Libyan-Libyan”, pointing out that the restoration of “security and stability in Libya will have a positive impact on the whole region”.

Meanwhile, the issue of irregular migration was discussed lengthy, and ways to address it. In this context, the Head of State affirmed his quest to put an end to this phenomenon. He recalled his visit to Sfax and Mahdia, which had a positive impact in restricting the flow of migrants. He stressed that this process is complex and the causes of it must be approached.

Conte remarked that Italy is encountering difficulties in containing the flow of irregular migrants, particularly in the face of the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President of the Republic emphasised that the solution could be bilateral, but it could also be multilateral, because Tunisia, in it turns, encounters many problems associated to this phenomenon, stressing  “security solutions alone are not enough to solve the problem of irregular migration”. The causes of this phenomenon must be addressed, in particular economic and social ones”.