President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, on Sunday described the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the strategic and comprehensive partnership between Tunisia and the European Union, which was signed this evening at the Carthage Palace, as “an important step towards the establishment of a genuine partnership between Tunisia and the European Union to tackle the migratory crisis in the Mediterranean in a comprehensive and integrated manner”.
Meloni, who arrived in Tunisia earlier in the day in the company of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said that “a great objective has been achieved with the signing of this memorandum”, adding that it was the culmination of “a great deal of diplomatic work carried out by everyone with patience and dedication”, as she said.
Giorgia Meloni stressed the need to continue working “with the same firmness in order to implement the stages of this memorandum”, which was stipulated in a joint declaration signed in June 2023 in Tunisia.
The President of the Italian Council of Ministers said that her country was “ready to provide maximum support for the implementation of this memorandum”.
Meloni praised the efforts of her country’s diplomats, the European Commission and Tunisia to achieve this memorandum, saying that “we have worked to achieve results that define Europe’s ambitions to build new relations with its North African neighbours”, considering that a few months ago it would have been impossible to think of such a thing.
On the other hand, Giorgia Meloni, who has recently made several visits to Tunisia, announced that next Sunday her country will host a meeting on migration and development with the participation of President Kais Saied, who, she said, will be “the guest of honour at the meeting” since he is the one who initiated the invitation to the meeting.
According to Giorgia Meloni, several African countries will take part in the meeting at the level of presidents or heads of government, and “the meeting will be the start of joint work and cooperation”, she said.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse