Cooperation between Tunisia and Malta in the fields of renewable and alternative energies, higher education, tourism and, particularly, the fight against illegal migration were the main themes of a meeting on Monday at Carthage Palace between President of the Republic, Kais Saied, and Maltese Prime Minister, Robert Abela, President Kais Saied pointed out that the phenomenon of irregular migration is in fact an organised displacement, stressing that the victims of this phenomenon have been forcibly displaced, which was confirmed yesterday by a number of them, in addition to the many clues pointing to the existence of a criminal organisation aiming to destabilise Tunisia says press release issued by the Presidency of the Republic. In this context, the President of the Republic underlined the existence of criminal networks involved in human and human organ trafficking, whether south of the Sahara or north of the Mediterranean and that the efforts of all must be combined to dismantle them, calling for the displaced to be drawn back to their homelands by supporting employment opportunities within them. The President of the Republic reiterated his position that the solution cannot be limited to the traditional security aspects, the limits of which have been proven by experience, stressing that duty requires the elimination of the causes that have led to this situation, which is unacceptable by all humanitarian and legal standards. He also said that the solution could only be a collective one involving all the parties concerned, recalling that Tunisia had called, a few weeks ago, for a high-level meeting to tackle the real causes rather than the results, because without eliminating the causes, it is impossible to tackle this phenomenon which is worsening daily. President Saied stressed that Tunisia had fulfilled its humanitarian duty, notably through the Tunisian Red Crescent and the military and security forces, which many other countries had not done, adding that many competent organisations that should have played their part in assisting and surrounding these displaced persons had not done so. The President of the Republic felt that Tunisia had taught the world a lesson in recent days by taking care of these victims and that it would never accept being a victim, stressing that Tunisia would counter all the attempts at settlement that some people have mentioned and that it would only accept those who were in a legal situation that applied its national legislation. The President of the Republic added that what Tunisian men and women have done so far refutes all the false allegations and scandalous slanders of a certain number of circles who ostensibly claim to be in favour of human rights but who, in fact, traffic in human suffering and have made nothing but false allegations of racism, considering that if these circles were sincere, they would have supported the efforts of the Tunisian people, but they are known and the veil hiding their exactions has fallen. The President of the Republic drew attention to a number of historical landmarks that reflect the depth and specific nature of these ties from Carthage to the present day, and the cultural intermixing that has taken place between the two peoples, thanks in particular to the presence of a large number of members of the Maltese community in Tunisia over the last two centuries. The President of the Republic emphasised that Tunisia is committed to ensuring that relations between the two countries are equal to the rapprochement and cohesion that have taken place between the two neighbouring peoples.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse