Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that an international conference on migration will take place in Rome on 23 July.
Tunisian President Kais Saied and leaders of Mediterranean countries are expected to take part in the conference.
Meloni made her announcement during a signing ceremony on 16 July in Tunisia, which was also attended by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The leaders signed a memorandum that aims to create jobs and increase activity against smugglers at sea and human trafficking networks, as well as improve border control systems.
The agreement came amid mounting concerns in the EU regarding the complex social and economic situation in Tunisia.
In previous remarks, Saied affirmed that Tunisia will not be a guardian of Europe’s borders in preventing the flow of illegal immigrants.
“There are criminal networks that traffic in human beings in the countries of origin or in countries of destination in Europe,” the president highlighted during a phone call with President of the European Council Charles Michel.
Last March, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the EU feared that a social or economic collapse in Tunisia would lead to a new influx of migrants to Europe.
