The President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, received on Monday at the Palais de Carthage, Mohamed Ali Nafti, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians abroad.
The interview has largely focused on Tunisia’s relations with several international organizations, in particular those involved in migration management, like the International Organization for Migration (OIM).
The main objective being to accelerate the process of voluntary return of migrants in an irregular situation present in Tunisia to their countries of origin.
The Head of State deplored the low number of voluntary returns organized since the start of the year, with only 1,544 migrants concerned.
“This figure could have been much higher if additional efforts had been made to put an end to this unacceptable phenomenon, both human and legal,” he said.
With this in mind, he called on international organizations to strengthen their support for Tunisian initiatives and to intensify their cooperation with the countries concerned in order to dismantle the criminal networks operating these migrants, including through organ trafficking.
On the diplomatic level, Kaïs Saïed insisted on the key role of Tunisian ambassadors in the defense of the country’s interests. He underlined the need for a continuous evaluation of their performance, believing that “the liberation battle led inside the country must be accompanied by a diplomatic release movement”.
