The Minister of Migration and Asylum Dimitris Kairides represented our country at the international conference on development and migration organized today in Rome.

After the end of the work, Mr. Kairides said to APE – BEE:

“I represented the prime minister, who as you know could not participate due to the fires in our country, in a particularly important initiative of the Italian prime minister to deal with immigration with a holistic approach on three axes:

The first is the development and stability in the countries of origin to realize their potential.

The second axis is the fight against traffickers’ networks. It was the common conclusion of all participants that these criminal organizations are responsible for the tragedies in the Mediterranean, the exploitation of innocent, unsuspecting and desperate people. They promise them the European paradise and lead them to death.

The third axis consists of policies with rules and controls for legal immigration according to the needs and possibilities of the labor market of each country.

Greece and Italy face similar challenges and it is only natural that we work together to promote holistic solutions.

As I mentioned in my intervention, the success of today’s conference was its organization. Countries from the south of the European Union, the Middle East, Africa and international organizations met in a spirit of cooperation and not, as is often the case, confrontation.

This conference gave the right focus, what has come out is that unseaworthy vessels are leaving the coasts and endangering the lives of countless innocent people. There was a particular emphasis on the need to go to the source, the root of the problem, by working with countries of transit and departure of migrants, to prevent human trafficking and the departure of unseaworthy vessels from North African shores.”