Italian Prime Minister to hold formal talks in Tunisia

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi began a formal visit to Tunisia yesterday to discuss five main issues related to bilateral cooperation, security issues and stability in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions.

The visit comes a year after the second recent visit that Tunisian President Zien El-Abedin Bin Ali has paid to Rome.

Tunisian sources told ArabicNews.com that the Italian prime minister and his accompanying ministerial delegation will discuss with their Tunisian counterparts the methods of activating Italian investments in Tunisia within the partnership agreement Tunisia signed with the European Union which took effect in March. They will also discuss prospects for expanding financial cooperation, trade, cultural and information cooperation especially between the television departments.

The sources expected that the Italians will suggest to the Tunisians coordinating rules for confronting illegal immigration from the south bank of the Mediterranean to the coast of Italy.

The sources confirmed that the talks will deal with the problem of Italian fishing ships sneaking into Tunisian waters, where formal statistics put the number of foreign ships the Tunisian Coast Guard stopped in Tunisian waters during the last seven years at more than 120, most of them Italian.

The sources said the talks will also tackle the peace process in the Middle East, where it is expected that the Tunisians will recommend that Rome and the European Union play a more effective role.