Italy and Tunisia sign pacts amid push to curb migration

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed three agreements with Tunisia yesterday during a state visit to the North African country.

The agreements are part of a wider EU plan to strengthen Tunisia’s ability to limit migration to Europe and include a budget support package, a higher education and scientific research deal and a special line of credit for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Italy will provide Tunisia with €105 million ($111.7 million) in budget support and credit lines, Ms Meloni’s office said, as part of Rome’s efforts to boost economic ties with African nations and curb irregular migration to Europe. The route to Italy through Tunisia has become the most popular among human traffickers in Africa.

Rome also offered Tunis €50 million to promote energy efficiency and renewables projects, a representative of Ms Meloni’s office said, as well as a €55 million credit line to support Tunisian SMEs.

Ms Meloni’s visit to Tunis is her fourth in less than a year, and the first since the Mattei plan, in which she promised a €5.5 billion investment package for projects in Africa, was announced during a summit in Rome in January.

A critical part of the plan – and a wider EU package – is helping Tunisia control the movement of migrants into and through the country, many from sub-Saharan Africa, as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean.

Thousands of people die each year attempting to make the journey, often aided by unscrupulous traffickers, who provide unsafe boats at extortionate costs.

The UN’s International Organisation for Migration estimates that at least 2,271 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe last year alone.

Increasingly, many also come from Tunisia and across North Africa, seeking better economic opportunities in Europe.

Ms Meloni reassured Tunisian President Kais Saied that her country did not intend to let Tunisia become a destination or permanent place of residence for migrants. She promised to strengthen Rome’s co-operation with Tunis on the issue.

Mr Saied has repeatedly said his country would not become a transit destination for sub-Saharan migrants attempting to reach Europe.

“Tunisia, which has always treated migrants humanely, refuses to be a transit or settlement for them,” he said during a meeting with officials from the National Security Council on Saturday.

Mr Saied also accused international organisations of failing to put in place promised migration policies and leaving Tunisia to single-handedly deal with the crisis and its consequences.