I am happy to be here once again. This is my fourth visit as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy in approximately the last twelve months, confirming the new relationship that, together with President Saied, with whom it was a pleasure to meet today, we have established between two nations that are already historically very good friends, with Italy and Tunisia sharing close ties.

This relationship has also been strengthened through the personal relationship between myself and President Saied and it is a relationship that is also based on a completely new approach, an approach among equals, an approach based on our nations’ mutual interests. 

It is on the basis of this approach that I am here today together with a large delegation from the Italian Government - Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Edmondo Cirielli - to sign a number of important agreements with Tunisia.

These agreements demonstrate that this bilateral relationship is clearly political in nature, but is also made up of very concrete steps, of building blocks with which to construct our ideas. 

This once again also shows that cooperation with Tunisia is a top priority for Italy from many points of view, and also forms part of the work Italy is doing with its ‘Mattei Plan’, to build cooperation on an equal basis with nations of the African continent, cooperation that is finally beneficial for all.

We have brought this new approach to life and are working on this also at European Union level.

Today we signed three very important agreements: an agreement to directly support Tunisia’s budget in the sector of renewable energy and energy efficiency (energy is one of the areas where cooperation between Italy and Tunisia must continue to be strengthened); a new line of credit for Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises; a framework agreement for cooperation in the university and higher education sectors.

Thanks also to Italy’s efforts, cooperation with Tunisia has also become a priority for the European Union. I am very proud of the work that also Italy has done, contributing to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the European Union, which President Saied called a historic day in relations between Tunisia and the European Union and which laid the foundations to build the model for cooperation on an equal basis with countries in the wider Mediterranean region that the Italian Government had spent so much energy on and that has now become a paradigm of reference also for the European continent as a whole. 

I am of course very proud of this work, which is producing excellent results on many fronts. Many other agreements will be signed: over the coming weeks, Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano and Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditarra will also be here in Tunisia. There is therefore a continuous presence of the Italian Government.

This cooperation is producing many results: I am thinking, for example, of the issue of migration management, in relation to which I wish to once again thank the Tunisian authorities and President Saied for the work we are doing and are trying to do together against human traffickers. 

Clearly, we know that Tunisia cannot become the country of arrival for migrants arriving from the rest of Africa. Cooperation must certainly be strengthened on this; we want to involve international organisations and work on repatriations, but we also want to work above all on regular flows, as indeed we have done with Tunisia through a decree that allows approximately 12,000 Tunisian citizens with training to come to Italy legally. I believe Italy can do much more also on legal migration, but it is fundamental that we work together to continue fighting the ‘slave traders’ of the third millennium, the mafia organisations that think they can exploit the legitimate aspirations of those who want a better life in order to make easy money. 

We share this work with President Saied, we are working on it together, but this work also requires development for African countries, investment and all the work Italy continues to carry out above all with this new approach, which it is promoting also at European level.

I am therefore very pleased about today, I am very pleased about the agreements we have signed and I am very pleased about the upcoming visits by our Ministers that will lead to other agreements. This confirms a very important strategic relationship that is among Italy’s top priorities and sees us comprehensively working together at both bilateral and multilateral level.

[Courtesy translation]