(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 16 - Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met
with her British counterpart Rishi Sunak at Palazzo Chigi in
Rome on Saturday.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the premier's office
said the talks focused primarily on the joint work in the field
of migration within the framework of the Memorandum of
Understanding signed in London on April 27.
The two leaders reportedly agreed to co-fund fund an initial
Italian-British project of assisted voluntary repatriations to
countries of origin drawn up by the International Organisation
for Migration (IOM) for migrants stranded in Tunisia.
The statement said the discussion also touched on the main
international issues, "starting with the Russian invasion of
Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East".
Palazzo Chigi also later said Albanian Premier Edi Rama had been
present at the meeting.
"After agreeing on the need to tackle illegal immigration to
Europe in an increasingly structured manner, the leaders agreed
to further intensify cooperation between the three countries to
fight human trafficking," read the statement.
The three premiers also reportedly "reiterated the importance of
achieving a definitive stabilisation of the Western Balkans,
also on the basis of the steps taken recently in the process of
enlargement of the European Union to (countries in) the
region".
On Thursday at the European Council in Brussels EU heads of
state and of government agreed to open accession talks with
Ukraine and to move ahead in the enlargement process for
Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia Herzegovina. (ANSA).
Meloni-Sunak agree on joint voluntary repatriation project
Italy-UK to co-fund IOM plan for migrants stranded in Tunisia