Tripoli, April 2: The Italian Interior Minister, Annamaria Cancellieri, . . .[restrict]is to visit Tripoli tomorrow, Tuesday. During the one-day visit, she will first meet with her Libyan counterpart, Ashour Ben Khayal, then with Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelal. The meeting, at the Corinthia Hotel, is scheduled to be followed by a press conference.
She will meet with Prime Minister Abdurrahim Al-Kib at in the afternoon.
Her discussions are expected to focus on migration issues and cooperation in the field.
The visit was originally announced in January when Italian Prime Minster Mario Monti visited Tripoli. He indicated at the time that migration would be on her agenda.
Last year some 60,000 migrants landed in Italy, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Many arrived from Libya. The number this year is expected to be far higher now that there is no more fighting in the country. In January, interior ministry spokesman Abdelmonem Al-Tunsi said on “that illegal immigration had resumed since the end of the anti-Qaddafi revolt”. Since then the Libyan authorities have said that the numbers of illegal immigrants were rising massively.
Cancellieri was initially expected to visit Libya in February. [/restrict]
