On Friday, the Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, said that all migrants coming from Tunisia will be sent back.
In a TV interview, Di Maio said: “Those who come from Tunisia will return to their homeland, because it is a safe country. We want to create new opportunities for dialogue and investment. We have Italian companies there, with which we are keen to continue working.”
The Italian FM pointed out that the situation is different in Libya. Italy has “excellent cooperation with the Libyan government to contain migration flows, until peace is achieved in the country,” he said.
On Tuesday, Di Maio arrived in Libya, where he met with Libyan officials including the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj, Speaker of the Parliament Ageela Saleh, GNA Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, President of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla, and Head of the High Council of State, Khaled Al-Mishri.
“Libya is an important player for us, and a crucial pivot for building a new development model in the Mediterranean region,” he said after meeting with Al-Sarraj on Tuesday. He pointed out that this could happen through “flourishing trade exchanges, and providing growth opportunities to all countries in the region.”