Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has completed a visit to Ghana and is now in Niger. A trip to Senegal will occur soon. In Ghana he signed an agreement to increase cooperation on combating illegal immigration, human trafficking, and other forms of organized crime.
Maroni is quoted as saying ”We have excellent bilateral agreements with the African countries of the Mediterranean region, from Morocco to Egypt. However, these are often transit countries for illegal immigrants who in reality originate in sub-Saharan African states. This is why now, while awaiting action from Europe, we want to extend security measures to that area not only regarding immigration, but also regarding the issues of drug trafficking and terrorism.”
ANSAmed reported that Maroni said Italy’s agreement with Libya has reduced the numbers of illegal migrants arriving in Italy and that “[n]ow the focus is to completely eliminate their arrival by blocking the departure of these ‘journeys of hope’.”
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MIGRANTS AT SEA 