Tunisian president meets Italy-EU delegation over illegal immigration

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday met Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson to discuss the illegal immigration issue, reported Xinhua.

Saied underlined the need to adopt "a global and consensual approach in the field of immigration which is based mainly on the fight against poverty and unemployment by supporting development efforts in the countries of origin and encouraging regular immigration," the Tunisian presidency said in a statement.

Saied reiterated that "security solutions alone are not enough to eliminate illegal immigration."

For her part, the Italian minister renewed her country's political and economic support for Tunisia and its determination to support national efforts for development by encouraging investment and creating jobs, especially in the interior regions, in order to succeed in mitigating the spread of the illegal immigration.

During the meeting, Johansson expressed the EU commitment to support the democratic process in Tunisia.