Leaving Tunisia for Muslim Brotherhood is a mistake: Italy FM
3 Min Read
Italy's Foreign Minister urges the country to help Tunisia in light of numerous ongoing crises that the country is embroiled in.
-
Migrants from Tunisia sail in a wooden boat as they are assisted by Spanish NGO Open Arms crew members during a rescue operation south of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean sea, August 9, 2022 (AP)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani underlined the need for Rome and the international community to help Tunisia in light of the ongoing crises that the country is facing.
"For two months we have been saying, in all international forums: we must help Tunisia with financing from the IMF and the World Bank, giving at least the first aid pending reforms and verification of progress," Tajani underlined.
Responding to a question about the US opposing the IMF unfreezing needed aid for Tunisia, the top Italian diplomat highlighted the importance of "not mak[ing] the mistake of leaving Tunisia to the Muslim Brotherhood."
"Everyone is moving [...] The EU is also moving [...] Even France is looking more closely at the problem, after Macron's meeting with Meloni," he added.
"On the Americans, I can only say that we are talking to everyone, we support a compromise solution: to give initial support, because the Tunisians maintain that without money they cannot carry out reforms,"
This comes amid a migration crisis from economic disaster-hit Tunisia, which has been leading to the death of numerous people attempting to leave the country.
The bodies of 29 migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were recovered after three boats capsized, said Tunisia's coastguard on Sunday, adding yet another tragedy to a series of migrant tragedies at sea.
Shipwrecks have left dozens of migrants dead while others remain missing in the country that serves as a starting point for migrants seeking to reach nearby European shores.
The incident comes after President Kais Saied made a speech last month where he accused sub-Saharan Africans of causing a crime wave in Tunisia, saying that they represent a "demographic threat" to the country.
The coastguard issued a statement on Sunday announcing that it had "rescued 11 illegal migrants of various African nationalities after their boats sank," adding that there were three separate sinking boats.
The Italian island of Lampedusa, 150 kilometers off the Tunisian coast, is described as the most deadly in the world by the United Nations.
Rome applied pressure on Tunisian authorities to try to control the flow of people and helped beef up the coastguard, which was described as violence by rights groups.
Italy's hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned that Tunisia's "serious financial problems" risked sparking a "migratory wave" toward Europe.
Read next: Italy’s far-right government targets NGOs rescuing migrants at sea
Meloni reiterated comments made by Josep Borrell, European Union's foreign policy chief, last week, in which he warned that Tunisia risks economic collapse which may trigger a new flow of migrants heading toward Europe.
