tmmf

The Libyan Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs in the Government of National Unity, Walid Al-Lafi, has said that the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum (TMMF) would be held on July 17 in the capital, Tripoli, with the participation of heads of state and ministers of interior of different countries.

Al-Lafi added during a press conference with Interior Minister Emad Al-Trabelsi that the TMMF would take place for one day with the aim of coming up with practical solutions to the immigration file. He considered the TMMF a strategic vision on the immigration issue in cooperation with European and African countries.

Italy, Malta, Niger, Chad, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Netherlands will participate in the forum, in addition to the League of Arab States, the African Union, and the European Union.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Emad Al-Trabelsi said that the immigration crisis had worsened in Libya over the past 10 years and reached its peak in 2024. He said the number of illegal immigrants in Libya, according to Al-Trabelsi, reached 2.5 million, indicating that Libya had turned from a transit country to a country of settlement for immigrants.

Al-Trabelsi expressed his categorical rejection of the resettlement of immigrants, considering the issue a matter of national security in Libya. He stressed that the state would not take any action in the immigration file unless it was in the interest of Libya, calling on the “army forces” in the east to cooperate with the Interior Ministry in securing the southern border.

The Interior Minister also said that the Ministry would issue official residency identification cards for workers in Libya in the next stage, considering that "the time has come to solve the immigrant problem."