PARIS: Seven African and European leaders met in Paris on Monday to try to build a “new relationship” aimed at stemming the flow of migrants into Europe from northern Africa in return for aid.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with his counterparts from Niger and Chad, along with the head of the Libyan unity government Fayez al Sarraj.
Niger and Chad are transit points on the route to Europe through war-torn Libya.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish and Italian prime ministers Mariano Rajoy and Paulo Gentiloni, and Europe’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini also joined the talks.
The meeting “may constitute the start of a new relationship between Europe and Africa,” the interior ministers of Italy, Chad, Niger, Mali and Libya said in a joint statement after meeting in Rome.
France is seeking improved border controls and patrolling of the waters around Libya — a mission complicated by the existence of two competing governments and a general sense of lawlessness in the desert state.
European countries have long sought to cut off clandestine immigration routes into the continent.
A controversial accord with Turkey last year stemmed the flow of migrants across the Aegean Sea to Greece, one of the main channels. But other routes have come back into use, including via Morocco and Spain.
More than 14,000 people have died attempting to reach Europe since 2014.
This year alone, some 125,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean by boat, according to UN figures, with the vast majority landing in Italy.
European nations are keen to offer development aid and funding to their African partners in return for help in stemming the flow of migrants and asylum-seekers. — AFP
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