Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed migration and the energy crisis at the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya, on Wednesday.

Meloni underlined the significance of combating human trafficking.

“There are people making a lot of money off the desperation of vulnerable people. And we cannot accept that, since these organizations are growing in power while disregarding human rights and human beings.”

Libya is an important, if deadly, route for migrants attempting to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea from various regions of Africa.

Migrants who arrive at the coast pay to board poorly equipped and overcrowded ships before embarking on perilous sea crossings.

Italy is a major point of arrival on the other side of the Mediterranean.

According to the United Nations, more African migrants and refugees are traveling north to the Mediterranean and Europe, crossing treacherous routes in the Sahara where criminal gangs subject them to enslavement, organ removal, rape, kidnapping for ransom, and other abuses.

According to a recent assessment by the UN refugee and migration agencies and the Mixed Migration Centre research organization, land routes in Africa are twice as lethal as water passages across the Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest maritime route for migrants.

Meloni also commented on Europe’s energy problem, stating that Europe and Africa should strengthen their collaboration in this sector.

“We are facing many crises, but every crisis, hides also an opportunity,” Mr. Meloni stated.

“We now have a dilemma in Europe with energy sources. Africa is…. North Africa, but all of Africa has the potential to be a massive provider of energy, mostly for itself, but also for export,” she said.

Other forum participants include Malta and Tunisia’s prime ministers, as well as European Union Commissioner Margaritis Schinas.

The meeting is sponsored by Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who leads the Tripoli-based government.

 AP