Italy’s commitment to the Libya dossier continues unabated. On his second day in New York to attend the opening of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, today met with his Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Siyala. Their talk followed yesterday evening’s meeting on Libya by the Foreign Ministers of the member states of the European Union.
Addressing Minister Siyala, Alfano expressed his satisfaction at the efficient cooperation between Rome and Tripoli in managing migrant flows “Italy has adopted a global approach to combatting human trafficking that aims to virtuously combine security and economic development pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding between our two governments of 2 February last. The significant reduction in migrant flows over the past two months is an encouraging sign”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Alfano also reminded Siyala of Italys’ humanitarian concerns.
“We are following the migrant camp situation in Libya with utmost attention. Italian NGOs are interested in working there to improve conditions in the migrant camps”.
The Libyan Minister gave a positive response to the prospect of the engagement of Italian NGOs in the Libyan camps provided that they cooperate with local NGOs and people and share the common goal of improving the treatment of migrants.
Alfano answered: “I am preparing to launch a request for tenders to finance services and facilities in the migrant centres”.
Lastly, Alfano confirmed Italy’s full support for the United Nations’ work in Libya, and said that the return of a number of UN Agencies to the North African country was “a success”. “Both the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration must play leading roles in Libya,” he said.
