This morning, before going to Brussels for the meeting of Extraordinary European Council Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will make a stop in Tunis. It’s his fourth visit to Tunisia in less than a year, the first in the Mattei Plan. Italian sources observe that Rome continues to be “strongly committed to supporting Tunisia, a nation close to us, with which we maintain historical relations of friendship, and a fundamental element of the stability of the Mediterranean and North Africa. Italy – the same sources further underline – is also active in promoting positive relations between the European Union and Tunisia in support of the Memorandum signed on 16 July 2023. The cooperation between Italy and Tunisia is an all-round cooperation that involves the entire government action”.
The Prime Minister will be accompanied by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosiby the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Berniniand by the deputy foreign minister Edmondo Cirielli and further missions will follow in the coming weeks. Meloni’s visit, the sources further observe, “will allow dialogue with the Tunisian president to continue Kai Saied on the main areas of bilateral cooperation: implementation of the Mattei Plan for Africa, cooperation on migration and the Rome process, energy and economic cooperation. Cooperation on migration remains a central aspect of the relationship between Italy and Tunisia and there continues to be strong support at bilateral and EU level for the ongoing efforts on the Tunisian side. It remains essential that the Tunisian authorities continue their action to combat smuggling and trafficking in human beings and to contain irregular departures.”
“Italy – the sources continue – is also committed to ensuring legal mobility for work reasons: on 20 October 2023 a Memorandum was signed between Italy and Tunisia in this area, the first in the nation. Tunisia is a priority country of the Mattei Plan for Africa, in line with the principles underlying this initiative (equal relationship, sharing of objectives, concreteness), the visit will allow an examination of the different areas of cooperation between the two nations”.
On the occasion of the visit, three instruments will be signed as part of the Mattei Plan: an agreement on direct support for the Tunisian state budget in support of energy efficiency and renewable energy; a credit line for small and medium-sized Tunisian businesses; a memorandum of understanding between the Italian Ministry of University and Research and the equivalent Tunisian ministry which will provide the framework for cooperation in this area between the two nations.
“The Italy-Tunisia partnership – the sources finally highlight – also fully affects the economic sphere: Italy is permanently the first supplier and the second outlet market and there are around 900 Italian companies active in the country. An ongoing strategic project is the one for the ELMED submarine electric cable, the first to connect the electricity grids of Africa and Europe, paving the way for further future investments in the field of renewable energy”.