“Hotspots in Italy? They would be a problem for us and Libya since these hotspots wouldn’t stop the flow of death (of immigration). We have requested the establishment of hotspots in Southern Libya in order to prevent that Libya becomes a channel for illegal immigration like what happened to Italy”. These are the words posted by Matteo Salvini on his personal twitter about his mission in Libya.

Salvini is currently in Lybia for a diplomatic meeting with the Lybian Gov. He will discuss the issue of illegal immigration with his Lybian counterpart, Abdulsalam Ashour. The Italian minister desires to strengthen its ties with Libya and work together against the illegal immigration problem which is hurting both countries terribly.

According to the Libyan authorities, the establishment of hotspots on Lybian soil will not happen since it is forbidden by the law. Even though Salvini’s proposal has been refused for the moment, both representatives from Libya and Italy agreed that the two countries will work together in the future to fight back against illegal immigration and smugglers which are plaguing both Libya and Italy. A summit about the immigration issue will happen this September. The Libyan vice-president Ahmed Maiting announced it during a press conference with Matteo Salvini and stated: “In the first half of September we will hold a conference on illegal immigration with an Italian-Libyan vision”.

Maiting then reiterated that cooperation between the two countries is crucial for a greater and brighter future, he continued by saying:”The smugglers who bring illegal migrants to Italy are very dangerous gangs of criminals for us, which prevent Libya from regaining its stability”