Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, warned on Wednesday that the risks of withdrawing from Tunisia would be enormous, including destabilizing regional stability, an explosion of migration flows, and growth of Russian and Chinese influence, as reported by the Italian news agency Nova.
Tajani made these comments during a briefing before the Italian House of Representatives on the recent memorandum of understanding between the European Union and Tunisia. He stated, “The risks of withdrawing from Tunisia would be enormous: destabilizing regional stability, an explosion of migration flows, and growth of Russian and Chinese influence. Our government has always been aware of this.”
Tajani also noted that together with the European Union, “we continue to work to enhance a fruitful dialogue to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and we hope that the country can access credit lines to maintain stability.”
Regarding the dialogue with Kais Saied, Tajani clarified, “We have always insisted on alerting the authorities to the necessity of preserving the democratic gains of the past decade, ensuring respect for fundamental freedoms, and maintaining a constructive approach towards civil society.”
He affirmed that “Tunisia is an important and strategic partner for Italy. It is our closest neighbor and an inevitable axis.”
Tajani then emphasized that “at the beginning of this year, Tunisia was not even listed among the various members of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, and within a few months, we managed to make it a priority file.”
