Tunisia refuses to be destination for illegal immigrants - FM

TUNIS, April 6 (KUNA) -- Tunisia will not be a destination or transit point for illegal immigrants, its Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Nafti told the UN'S visiting migration agency chief Amy Pope during talks on Tuesday. Citing "relative progress" in a national program aiming to allow illegal immigrants to self-deport, the Tunisian top diplomat assured the director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that Tunis stands ready to facilitate the repatriation of illegal immigrants, in line with the North African nation's belief in "basic humanitarian principles," he said.
Commending Tunisian efforts and those of the international community alike, the IOM chief underlined the "tangible progress" in the UN body's cooperation with Tunis, mainly dealing with national initiatives to regulate the flow of migrants, she said.
The IOM director general's visit to Tunisa comes at a time where the north African nation has turned into a major transit point for sub-Saharan African migrants and asylum seekers seeking greener pastures in Europe. (end) sbm.nam