On Monday, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani called for strengthening the border between Libya and Tunisia.
This came during his speech on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting on the Western Balkans, according to Italy’s news agency, NOVA.
Last week, Tajani called for “close coordination with Algeria to facilitate the national reconciliation in Libya, and support the stability of the Sahel region.”
The Italian Foreign Ministry said Tajani held a telephone call on Wednesday, with his new Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, regarding the main regional files.
He stressed the importance of Italian-Algerian cooperation for the stability and security of the Mediterranean region. Tajani called on Attaf to “work in close coordination to support Tunisia, facilitate national reconciliation in Libya, and support the stability of the Sahel region.”
Tajani also emphasized the importance of Italy’s cooperation with Algeria at the political, economic, and security levels. He expressed his hope to “deepen the already excellent bilateral relations with Algeria.”
Last month, the Italian FM said that “Italy is working to make Libya a stable country. We are talking with everyone. We went to Tripoli with the Prime Minister (Giorgia Meloni), and we provided patrol boats to the Libyan Coast Guard.”
“We are increasing assistance to the Libyan Coast Guard. After we handed it a patrol boat recently, we will deliver two more boats (to the Libyans) in the next few days,” the Italian top diplomat said in an interview.
Tajani pointed out that the boats will help the Libyan Coast Guard to “prevent the departure of migrant boats.”
In turn, Italian lawmaker, Tommaso Foti claimed that “nearly 700,000 migrants are in Libya awaiting an opportunity to set out by sea toward Italy.”
In televised statements, the parliamentary whip from Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party said that “the Italian Secret Service estimated that 680,000 migrants were in Libya, many of them in detention camps. They are eager to sail across the central Mediterranean sea in smugglers’ boats,” according to The Associated Press (AP).
