London, 31 March 2025 – At the invitation of UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Tunisia’s Minister of the Interior, Khaled Nouri, travelled to London, accompanied by a delegation of senior ministry officials, to participate in the Border Security Summit: Organised Crime and Migration. This high-level event, hosted by the United Kingdom on 31 March and 1 April 2025, brought together representatives from 46 countries, including 37 interior ministers, as well as key international and regional organisations such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Leading social media platforms, including X, Meta, and TikTok, also took part in discussions aimed at enhancing cooperation to combat irregular migration and transnational crime.
A Call for a Fair and Unified Approach
During the first day of the summit, which was opened by the UK Prime Minister, interior ministers convened for a high-level meeting chaired by Yvette Cooper. Minister Khaled Nouri delivered a compelling speech, stressing the urgent need for greater international collaboration in dismantling organised crime networks profiting from migration flows. He specifically highlighted the importance of cutting off financial resources that fuel human trafficking operations.
In his address, Minister Nouri reaffirmed Tunisia’s commitment to a partnership-based approach, urging all nations involved to share responsibilities fairly in tackling migration-related challenges. He underlined the universal principles of human rights and international conventions, emphasising that the fight against irregular migration should not focus solely on restrictive border policies but also on addressing its root causes, particularly economic and developmental disparities between origin and destination countries.
“No single country, no matter how well-equipped, can single-handedly combat irregular migration and transnational organised crime,” Nouri asserted, calling for a unified international effort and stronger mechanisms for cooperation to effectively tackle these pressing global issues.
Strategic Bilateral Meetings
On the sidelines of the summit, Minister Khaled Nouri engaged in a series of high-level bilateral meetings with key international counterparts, including:
• Yvette Cooper, UK Home Secretary
• Angela Eagle, UK Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum
• Matteo Piantedosi, Italian Minister of the Interior
• Abdel Amir Al-Shammari, Iraqi Minister of the Interior
• Gerhard Karner, Austrian Minister of the Interior
• Bruno Retailleau, French Minister of the Interior
• Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Nigerian Minister of the Interior
• Hamsah Falcone, UK Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Middle East & North Africa)
These discussions focused on strengthening cooperation on border security, combating human trafficking networks, and enhancing intelligence-sharing mechanisms. Tunisia’s participation at the summit reaffirmed its role as a key regional partner in ensuring security and stability in the Mediterranean and beyond.
The summit underscored the critical need for multilateral cooperation to effectively tackle the challenges posed by irregular migration and transnational crime. Minister Khaled Nouri’s strong advocacy for a balanced, fair, and human-rights-based approach was well received, reinforcing Tunisia’s commitment to being a proactive and responsible player in international security efforts.
