German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday began a two-day trip to Egypt and Tunisia, part of her push to limit migrant flows to Europe through North Africa, especially chaos-torn Libya.
Since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has lacked a national government, which has made it the main gateway for African migrants heading for the 28-member EU on dangerous Mediterranean crossings.
Merkel, who faces elections in September, has been under intense pressure to reduce the number of asylum seekers coming to Germany, which has taken in more than 1 million since 2015.
Her government has urged the Maghreb states and Egypt to step up border controls and speed up repatriations of migrants whose asylum applications are rejected.
Merkel first heads to Egypt, where she is to meet Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, before holding talks today with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.
She is joined by a business delegation that could sweeten the diplomacy with investments badly needed by both countries, which are grappling with sluggish economies, tourism slumps after internal turmoil and militant attacks, and high unemployment, especially among young people.
A major focus in Egypt and Tunisia will be on Libya, which has porous desert borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan.
“Without a political stabilization of Libya, we won’t be able to stop the human traffickers operating out of Libya who are responsible for by far the most arrivals in Italy,” Merkel said in her latest weekly podcast. “Egypt, as a regional institution, as a regional power, plays a major role here, as do Algeria and Tunisia.”
The trip is part of a larger diplomatic push by Merkel, who last year visited Mali, Niger and Ethiopia. She had planned a trip to Algeria last week, but it was called off after Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fell ill.
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