Minister of Foreign Affairs Co-Chairs Ministerial Roundtable on African Migration
At the invitation of the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amy Pope, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, Mohamed Ali Nafti, co-chaired a ministerial roundtable on "African Migration at the Crossroads: From Partnership to Solution-Finding" in Geneva on Saturday, December 6, 2025. The meeting brought together several African ministers and officials responsible for migration issues.
Tunisian Approach to Irregular Migration
In his intervention, the minister presented the Tunisian approach to addressing irregular migration, based on a comprehensive approach that balances respect for human dignity, the fight against human trafficking networks, and security imperatives. He emphasized the need to strengthen regional and international cooperation to develop sustainable solutions, in a spirit of shared responsibility and solidarity.
Tunisia's Position on Migration
Mohamed Ali Nafti reaffirmed Tunisia's constant position, which refuses to be a transit or settlement country for irregular migrants. He specified that the measures mobilized to protect borders are in no way a rejection of others, recalling that Tunisia remains a space for openness and encounter between civilizations, in respect of the rules of stay in force.
Concrete Measures for Return and Reintegration
The minister also highlighted the concrete measures taken by the Tunisian authorities to ensure the smooth operation of voluntary return operations, in close coordination with the IOM office in Tunis. He insisted on the need to improve the effectiveness of this mechanism through better regional and international management, particularly to curb the action of trafficking networks.
Financing Development Projects for Young Migrants
Nafti also emphasized the importance of financing development projects for young migrants returning to their countries of origin. This approach, he said, would allow for a shift from "constrained mobility" to "concerted mobility" and promote a partnership logic based on mutual interest, skill exchange, and technology transfer.
Bilateral Cooperation and Program Acceleration
On the sidelines of the roundtable, the Minister of Foreign Affairs held a working session with Amy Pope and several IOM officials. The discussions focused on bilateral cooperation and the acceleration of voluntary return programs, with support aimed at helping migrants create projects in their communities of origin.
Meeting with Beninese Counterpart
Mohamed Ali Nafti also met with his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari. The two officials welcomed the quality of economic and academic cooperation between Tunis and Cotonou and agreed to jointly prepare the next bilateral deadlines to expand the partnership prospects.
