Premier Giorgia Meloni said “illegal migrants are the enemy of legal ones” at the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli.
At the Migration Forum in Tripoli, Meloni spoke about the human trafficking of illegal immigrants.
“We have not been able to allow many legal migrants to come to Italy in recent years because we have had too many illegal ones,” she explained.
“Criminal organisations want to decide who has the right to enter our country and who does not.
“My government has passed decrees expanding the quotas (for legal migrants) for three years, above all from the nations that help us fight against human traffickers.
“I think everyone can see that the Mediterranean is a priority for this Italian government and the Mediterranean cannot exist without Italy and Libya together.
“This is partly the reason why we have greatly improved cooperation on various fronts over the last two years.
“We need to have a 360-degree approach to tackle the issue seriously,” she continued.
“Italy is working on this a great deal, especially at a multilateral level. The first line of intervention is the fight against human traffickers.
“The UN tells us this is one of the most powerful criminal trafficking networks in the world today.
“There are people who make a lot of money using the desperation of the vulnerable, and we cannot allow it”.
She said Italy was giving a good example via the Mattei Plan. The plan seeks to create a new partnership with African countries to address the root causes of irregular migration and turn Italy into a sort of hub for energy supplies.
“I don’t think charity is the right approach, the predatory approach is certainly wrong,” she said.
“The right way is strategic cooperation between equals, taking investments to Africa that solve problems for both parties”.
