Italian government reduced illegal migrant arrivals by 60%: Meloni

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Jun 2024 17:29
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Italy's Prime Minister attributes this decline to cooperative relationships with North African countries, particularly Libya and Tunisia.

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni makes statements with her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama at a reception center for migrants in the port of Shenjin, northwestern Albania, on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that her government has managed to reduce the number of illegal migrant arrivals to the country by 60% compared to the same period in 2023, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Tuesday.

"The whole government's commitment has enabled us to get illegal arrivals down 60% compared to the same period last year," she told the cabinet.

Meloni attributed this decline to cooperative relationships with North African countries, particularly Libya and Tunisia -- the primary departure points for refugees seeking asylum in Italy.

The news agency mentioned that the Italian premier is visiting Albania on Wednesday to inspect the construction of two migrant reception centers funded and managed by Rome as part of an unprecedented agreement with a non-European country to host illegal migrants.

Albania has agreed to take in asylum seekers, register them at a center on the Adriatic Sea, and then house them at another center inland while their claims are processed by Italy.

Official Italian data revealed an unprecedented decrease in the number of illegal migrants coming from eastern Libya. According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, 25,344 migrants were recorded arriving via Tunisia and 21,561 via Libya during the period from January 1 to May 28, 2023.

Since the beginning of this year, 8,761 migrants have arrived from Tunisia, accounting for 65%, while 10,700 migrants have arrived from Libya, accounting for 50%.

During her visit to Libya in May, Meloni emphasized that cooperation with the North African nation in combating illegal migration flows remains essential.