Italian PM Says EU Will Send Aid Package to Tunisia

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian PM (File photo: EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian PM (File photo: EPA)
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Italian PM Says EU Will Send Aid Package to Tunisia

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian PM (File photo: EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian PM (File photo: EPA)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday that the leaders of Italy, the Netherlands, and the European Commission would likely announce an EU aid package for Tunisia during an upcoming visit during the weekend.

Meloni, her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, and President of EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Tunisia Sunday to discuss removing obstacles hindering Tunisia's access to International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans.

She said that the expected EU aid package would pave the way for obtaining IMF funding.

"It seems to me that important steps forward are being taken," Meloni said.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Rome with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Meloni said she was confident a deal could be reached between the IMF and Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense announced Friday that four Tunisian soldiers died in a military helicopter crash into the sea on Wednesday.

The ministry said it had lost contact with the helicopter after it went missing while on a flight mission on Wednesday near Bizerte.

According to the Ministry, the units are still searching for the dead soldiers after they recovered two bodies and parts of the helicopter's wreckage.

Also, President Kais Saied discussed the incident with the Minister of Defense, Imed Memmiche.

The President called for the necessity of renewing the Tunisian military equipment, considering that such incidents, which can occur in any country, unfortunately, occur in Tunisia due to the erosion of the equipment, which led to and continues to lead to such tragedies.

In October 2021, three soldiers were killed when an army helicopter crashed during a night exercise in the southern province of Gabes.

A year early, a soldier was killed when his warplane crashed in the Remada region, in the far south of Tunisia. In 2018, two soldiers were killed when a training plane crashed in Sfax, east of Tunisia.

The most significant accident dates back to 2002, when a military helicopter carrying the military leaders crashed, killing 13 Tunisian soldiers in the Medjez el-Bab area.



Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon: Mikati Says Diplomatic Efforts 'Intensify' to Secure Ceasefire

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference in the presence of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt (not pictured), in Beirut, Lebanon October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday said that diplomatic efforts are ongoing to pressure Israel into halting its offensive on Lebanon.
He said that contacts have “intensified” in the past hours ahead of a session of the United Nations Security Council, aiming once again to achieve a ceasefire and increase pressure to stop the "Israeli aggression" on Lebanon.
He noted that “discussions are ongoing between the United States and France, which has requested the convening of the Security Council, with the goal of reviving a declaration for a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the resumption of talks on political solutions."
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians. Israel has carried out airstrikes in response and the conflict steadily escalated, erupting into a full-fledged war last month.
Israel has inflicted a punishing wave of blows against Hezbollah in recent weeks and says it will keep fighting until tens of thousands of displaced Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced since the fighting escalated in mid-September.