Rishi Sunak to hold migrant talks with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Albania’s Edi Rama in Rome this weekend as he seeks fresh action to tackle crisis

Rishi Sunak will join his Italian and Albanian counterparts this weekend for talks on how to tackle the growing immigration crisis.

He will meet Giorgia Meloni and Edi Rama in Rome tomorrow for a trilateral that will focus on illegal migration and the role of organised crime. 

It comes after a bruising week for the PM as his party imploded over his plan to finally get Rwanda deportation flights off the ground next year.

He will take part in talks ahead of a planned appearance at a political rally organised by Ms Meloni’s party, where other speakers will include X and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the talks ‘will be focused on our joint efforts to tackle illegal immigration and organised crime’, as well as ‘other shared challenges such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza’.

‘As you’ve heard from the Prime Minister direct, he is clear that this is a shared global challenge and it is important that countries work together to address it, just as we are with Rwanda and with other like-minded countries such as Italy and Albania,’ she said.

Ms Meloni, 46, has struck up a warm friendship with the PM since taking office around the same time as he entered No10.

He will meet Meloni and Edi Rama (pictured right) in Rome tomorrow that will focus on illegal migration and the role of organised crime .

More than 29,000 people have crossed the English Channel to reach the UK so far this year – more than the same time in 2021, but fewer than last year

Asked whether a deal to process asylum seekers in Albania could be up for discussion, she said: ‘The focus will be on our existing partnerships and work with both Italy and with Albania, and the work that’s already ongoing with them on illegal migration, and the returns deal, for example, with Albania that we already have.’ 

It came after a female migrant died and another was left in a critical condition when a boat carrying 66 people sank in the English Channel.

A major rescue operation was sparked when French coastguard officials were alerted that a small boat was in trouble five miles off the coast of Grand Fort Philippe near Calais, northern France around midnight.

The first migrants were rescued by rescue boat Esvagt Charlie at 1.15 am. At around 2.15am, a further 59 people were picked up, including two who were unconscious. 

One was airlifted to hospital in Calais, but a woman could not be revived while a second vessel rescued a further seven people.

Two migrants remain missing and a French Navy maritime patrol aircraft continues to perform an aerial search of the area. Border Force catamaran Hurricane is patrolling the Channel between Folkestone, Kent and Sangatte, northern France.

The tragedy underlines the importance of Rishi Sunak’s efforts to ‘stop the boats’, the spokeswoman added.

Rescue ship Esvagt Charlie was deployed by French coastguard authority Premar to help those stuck in the water

Today’s tragedy is the latest in a series of deaths of migrants making the treacherous 21-mile crossing.

Two asylum seekers, a man and a woman, died while attempting to cross the Channel last month, and at least six others have perished en-route to the UK by inflatable dinghy this year.

Mr Sunak will speak at the four-day Atreju event this weekend that has previously been attended by Hungary’s Viktor Orban and ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon.

The festival is named after a character in the 1980s fantasy film The NeverEnding Story and was founded by Ms Meloni in 1998.

Initially it was linked to the youth wing of the National Alliance, the successor to a neo-fascist party started by allies of Benito Mussolini.

At this year’s edition, held in the ancient Roman Castel Sant’Angelo fortress near the Vatican, one of the other notable guests will be Spanish far-right opposition leader Santiago Abascal. 

Ms Meloni, 46, has struck up a warm friendship with the PM since taking office around the same time as he entered No10. 

They have been seen getting on well at international events and also during a visit to Downing Street earlier this year.

Source: Read Full Article