By- Radio ML
The Italian Ambassador to Tunisia, Alessandro Prunas, emphasized that "addressing irregular migration represents one of the major challenges of our time and no country can confront this phenomenon alone." In an interview with the Tunis Africa Press Agency (TAP), the Italian ambassador stressed the importance of intensifying cooperation to combat human traffickers. The Italian diplomat believes that the issue of irregular migration should not be addressed from a security perspective alone. In this context, Alessandro Prunas stated that a broad strategy must be developed to address this phenomenon, noting that the security aspect remains undoubtedly important, but there is a need to increase the legal frameworks governing migration. The diplomat also mentioned the efforts made by the National Association of Italian Builders, which last year launched a pilot project to train about forty Tunisians. Today, the same project, funded through the European program THAMM Plus, aims to train 2,000 Tunisian workers in the construction sector, according to the ambassador. He added that the trainees would thereby be able to secure decent and well-paid jobs. The ambassador highlighted that the third aspect Italy considers in combating irregular migration is avoiding the attraction of Tunisia's best talents abroad, considering that Tunisia has an interest in retaining its talents. For this reason, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, according to the ambassador, provides four projects in four areas, with funding amounting to approximately 8 million euros, aiming to train talents who will work in Tunisia for already established companies in the country. Alessandro Prunas pointed out that addressing irregular migration can only succeed by addressing the root causes, which are poverty and underdevelopment, stressing the necessity of creating opportunities in the migrants' countries of origin. The Italian diplomat also mentioned the launch of numerous initiatives, such as the International Conference of Rome on "Development and Migration," held in Rome in July 2023, which resulted in the "Rome Process" to highlight the link between aspects of development and migration and to find appropriate solutions.