Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied. The bilateral meeting lasted about an hour, and at the end, the ceremony for the signing of some agreements.
The Italian delegation includes, among others, the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, that of the University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli. The Tunisian delegation is made up of the Minister of the Interior Kamel Feki and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Nabil Ammar. The meeting of the ministers with their Tunisian counterparts will be held, and, in parallel, the meeting of the Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research Moncef will take place at the Presidential Palace in Carthage. The talks are expected to focus on the Mattei Plan and on the issue of migration management, especially on the regular flows of migrants into Tunisia. The two countries are also expected to discuss the future of the European Union. Tunisia is considered a "priority" in the Mattei Plan for Africa. Italy is active in promoting positive relations between the EU and Tunisia. Meloni plans to continue the dialogue started with Saied on the main bilateral dossiers. The Tunisian authorities speak of over 40 thousand people intercepted by sea and land since January. The Elmed submarine cable will connect the electricity grids of Africa and Europe, and economic cooperation (900 Italian companies in the North African country) will also be discussed. The two countries will also discuss cooperation on combating illegal migratory flows, starting however from cooperation on the issue of illegal immigrants in Italy. "Meloni considers Tunisia only as an advanced border point where controls can be strengthened to prevent arrivals in Italy, whatever the humanitarian cost," says the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES). The prime minister needs it as an electoral card, in Italy and in Europe, to promote the success of the anti-immigration model, says the FTDES.