Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated on Saturday that her country is determined to increase its influence in the Mediterranean.

At the 8th MED Mediterranean Dialogue Forum in Rome, Meloni said: "We understand that building a shared space of wealth is the only way to effectively address pressing issues like climate change, food security, and health." 

Meloni claimed that the European Union and African states should engage in "virtuous collaboration," adding that EU countries will not be rich unless their African counterparts are prosperous.

“As Italy, we have been saying for a while, we cannot handle this migration flow alone, it is at an unacceptable level. Since the beginning of 2022, 94,000 unauthorized migrants have entered Italy,” said Meloni.

Italy can serve as an energy conduit between the Mediterranean and Europe because of its geographic location, infrastructure, cooperative spirit, and corporate backing, she continued.

This comes shortly after Meloni publicly criticized France for its hypocritical approach to the issue of migrants coming in from Africa - the controversy has become a point of contention between the two countries within the past weeks, especially after Paris rejected a ship full of African migrants, turning it back.  

Meloni, in response, turned to expose Paris' colonial policies in Burkina Faso, which has for long suffered from French colonialism and imperialist violence.