Italy is to boost its engagement with Africa's Sahel region - a migration and terrorism hub - foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said on Wednesday.
"We will be increasingly involved in the Sahel in the years to come," Di Maio said, recalling that two major migration routes to Europe pass through Mali and Niger.
Italy "does its utmost to try and support countries that have swathes of their territory under the control of terrorist organisations," he said.
Political instability, climate change, drought and poor economic and social conditions are creating the perfect breeding ground for terrorist organisations, Di Maio said.
"We face a major challenge against Daesh (the Islamic State jihadist group) in Iraq and in Syria which must also be tackled in the Sahel," he underlined.
