Migrant arrivals to Italy by sea fell by a third in 2017 compared to a year earlier, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, as Libyan authorities helped to slow departures during the second half of the year.
More than 119,000 came to Italy by boat this year after a record 181,000 made the crossing in 2016, the ministry said in a statement. Since July, arrivals have declined by more than two thirds versus a year earlier.
“We were able to govern the flow because we were the first to believe that an agreement with Libya was a turning point,” Interior Minister Marco Minniti said in an interview with Corriere della Sera, commenting on the decline.
In February, Italy signed an agreement with the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, promising aid, equipment and training in exchange for its help in fighting people smuggling. The deal was endorsed by the European Union.
