Italian foreign minister begins Africa tour

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini’s official visit to Mauritania on Monday marks the beginning of his seven-nation African tour.

In an interview with Rome-based daily Il Tempo, Frattini said the visits aim to “defend Italy’s concrete national interests,” by seeking a more developed level of cooperation in their mutual efforts to battle terrorism and piracy, as well as exploring Italian business opportunities.

Citing recent racially motivated unrest involving African immigrants and residents of the Italian town of Rosarno, the Foreign Minister said a collaborative effort is needed to stop illegal immigration and related obstacles.

Frattini is also scheduled to visit the African countries of Mali, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt and Tunisia.

While in Mauritanian, the foreign minister will work with the country’s authorities to free the Italian couple kidnapped on December 18 by militants calling themselves al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb.

A video of Sergio Cicala and his wife Philomene Kaboure in the hands of their captors was aired on al-Arabiya in late December.

Frattini has indicated that he will not take part in negotiating with the terrorists.

“Should we say, even once, OK, let’s negotiate, we would be legitimizing terrorist organizations,” he told Sky TG24 TV on December 27.