(Adnkronos) – The assisted voluntary repatriation from Libya of migrants to their homelands is “an effective solution” to stemming illegal immigration, Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi and Libyan counterpart Imad Trabelsi agreed on Thursday, the interior ministry said in a statement.
During talks in Rome, Piantedosi and Trabelsi said the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and refugee agency UNHCR are among crucial international partners that can help in assisted voluntary repatriations from Libya – a major transit country and launchpad for migrants trying to reach Europe by boat – according to the statement.
Libya and Italy have long been at the frontline of illegal immigration to Europe and the focus of Piantedosi and Trabelsi’s talks was an exchange of views on shared strategies to fight the scourge, the statement said.
