The joint Italian-Tunisian Military Commission kicked off its activities during a visit that has raised many questions about its objectives. The visit coincided with the trilateral consultative meeting between Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya held on Monday in the Tunisian capital.
Guido Crosetto, the Italian Defense Minister, arrived on Tuesday in the Tunisian capital accompanied by a high-level military delegation to participate in the meeting of the Joint Italian-Tunisian Military Committee.
The visit of the Italian Defense Minister comes a week after the visit of Georgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, on April 17th, accompanied by the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Universities. Several agreements were signed during Meloni’s visit, and announcements were made regarding expected visits by the Ministers of Defense, Culture, and Higher Education. Meloni stated that the Italian government would maintain a continuous presence in Tunisia to assist in resolving several contentious issues between the two countries, notably irregular migration.
The visit of the Italian Defense Minister is part of his participation in the twenty-fifth meeting of the Joint Italian-Tunisian Military Committee, according to the Italian news agency “Nova.”
As part of the visit program, the Italian Minister Crosetto will meet his Tunisian counterpart, Imad Memeesh, to discuss bilateral cooperation needs, especially in combating irregular migration and uncovering human trafficking networks.
Italy had announced its readiness to support Tunisia in various training fields, skill exchange, technical assistance, and equipment supply in various operational sectors.
The visit of the Italian Defense Minister comes within the framework of Tunisia hosting, starting yesterday, for the fourth consecutive time, the joint military exercise “African Lion 24,” organized by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), with the participation of armies from 20 countries, including NATO units.
