Interior Minister Kamal Feki and his Libyan counterpart, Major General Imad Mustafa Trabulsi, held a working meeting in Tunis on Wednesday to discuss ways of tackling irregular migration and facilitating services at the Ras Jedir border crossing, in addition to common security challenges. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both ministries. The Ministry of Interior said in a statement that both sides agreed on the need for more coordination and bilateral cooperation in the field of security to reflect the true brotherly relations between the two peoples and the strength of the partnership between the two countries, especially in the field of intelligence sharing, training and combating organised crime. During the meeting, the ministers stressed the importance of the issue of African migrants from the Sahel and sub-Saharan countries and its impact on the two countries, as well as the need to reduce the flow of migrants at the borders, which requires concerted efforts and joint coordination in order to find solutions that take account of the overriding interest of both countries. They also agreed to call on international organisations to support the efforts of the Tunisian state and the Red Crescent in providing humanitarian assistance and not to hesitate to fulfil their duty towards the migrants and inform them. During the working session, it was agreed to set up a joint field team to monitor the flow of traffic at the Ras Jedir border crossing and to make serious proposals on all related issues to be applied on the ground in order to facilitate the passage of travellers from both sides. The two sides called for strengthening the work of the Permanent Joint Security Committee and continuing to hold joint coordination meetings in order to further consolidate and elevate bilateral relations to the highest level. The Libyan minister arrived in Tunisia this morning. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse