Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan represents the country as Rome hosts an international conference on illegal migration. Fidan is expected to advocate Türkiye’s views on illegal migration, including the necessity to prevent illegal migration at its source countries.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has invited Mediterranean countries for the event Sunday, which focuses on a deal with Tunisia to curb the arrival of migrants to European shores.
Türkiye is home to over 4 million displaced people and Syrians under temporary protection status make up most of the displaced who took shelter in Türkiye, host to the largest Syrian refugee community in the world.
Ankara views “international injustice” as the leading cause of irregular migration. Turkish officials say improving conditions in the countries where illegal migrants hail from is necessary, along with the need for voluntary returns in line with international standards for intercepted irregular migrants.
Türkiye sees the issue as something which needs international cooperation and seeks to establish bilateral, regional and international groups to ensure the cooperation.
Both Türkiye and its strategic ally Italy are tackling the challenges of irregular migration. The conference in Rome focused on the joint planning and implementation of several projects on agriculture, energy, infrastructure, education, health care and hygiene in source countries.
Participants also discussed the fight against human trafficking and a new cooperation model between states, as well as steps to encourage economic development in countries where most irregular migrants hail from.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the matter with Meloni in the recent NATO summit in Vilnius. As he returned from a Gulf tour earlier this week, Erdoğan said that Türkiye would take more steps against irregular migration, noting that law enforcement stepped up inspections. “But our work is carried out so as not to hurt people’s dignity,” he emphasized.
