Italy is proud to be rescuing hundreds of thousands of people off its long Mediterranean coast and is the western country that is "most directly involved" in saving migrant lives, premier Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday.
"Italy sits in the Mediterranean and is the country that witnesses migration and is the most directly involved on that front, a commitment that I am proud of," Gentiloni stated.
"We are proud to continue to save hundreds of thousands of human lives," he told a conference in Rome on migration, climate and agriculture taking place at the Accademia dei Lincei.