Italy in Tunisia for 7 historical agreements

In Tunisia, the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte and the two vice premieres Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini and the head of the Farnesina, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, were present. 48 companies, 5 associations, and banks for a total of 114 delegates.

The result is seven signed agreements ranging from electricity interconnection, transfer of postal booklet funds, school infrastructure, debt conversion, diplomatic training, common decentralization, plus a fisheries agreement. Ben 19, instead, are the points of the joint declaration signed by the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, and the head of the Tunisian government, Youssef Chahed.

“Electricité Mediterranéenne” (ElMed), the electricity interconnection between Italy and Tunisia. For a long time there has been talk of a “Sicily-Tunisia electricity bridge” that should be built by Terna.

The project was selected in Brussels among the European Projects of common interest, it was born from an agreement in 2009 between Terna and the Tunisian equivalent company Steg (with the creation of a mixed company), following an agreement in 2008 between the two ministries competent. The estimated cost is 600 million euros.

The deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, spoke instead of a cable on broadband: "Here our companies will be able to make investments in renewable energy and will be able to supply energy to Italy", he specified. Furthermore, "we could decide to make joint investments in renewables," the deputy prime minister said.

There is also space for the dossier of migrants. In this regard, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, said that Italy has reduced the arrivals of migrants arriving from Tunisia "by 85 percent, going from about 1.500 in the first four months of 2018 to 230 of this year". The owner of the Interior Ministry then added: "We are working to improve collaboration between the two countries, providing more means of combating immigration from the Italian side (in addition to the 60 off-road vehicles and boats already delivered) and providing consular personnel to be the Tunisian side to make identification and repatriation quicker and more effective ”.

There is also room for "excellent cooperation in the defense sector". In this regard, the joint statement reads, "the parties expressed particular satisfaction with Italy's willingness to support, through assistance and training activities, the project for the creation of a Center for planning and command of operations in Jendouba, and for the definition of a five-year professional training plan for underwater activities, for the benefit of the Tunisian side ".

The joint declaration underlines "the growth in trade, thanks to both the increase in Italian exports to Tunisia and that of Tunisian exports to Italy". The improvement in economic relations between the two countries is testified by “the significant growth of Italian direct investments in Tunisia, with the presence of over 800 Italian companies that create 63.000 jobs, thus actively contributing to the prosperity and stability of Tunisia”.

Libya

Regarding the Libyan crisis, Italy and Tunisia "reiterated the need to put an end to hostilities with the adoption of the ceasefire and the immediate restart of the political process, rejecting any military solution, in order to reach an intra-Libyan political settlement inclusive, under the auspices of the United Nations. Italy and Tunisia reaffirm the centrality of the United Nations on the Libyan dossier and their support for Ghassan Salamé, special representative of the UN secretary general.

 

Italy in Tunisia for 7 historical agreements

| EVIDENCE 3, MONDO |