Ankara confirms deal with London on illegal migration

ANKARA

The Turkish Interior Ministry has confirmed its collaboration with the U.K. to tackle illegal migration, stressing the agreement on intelligence sharing, particularly in combating migrant smugglers and addressing this mechanism.

The announcement came as the first statement from the Turkish authorities after the U.K. on Aug. 8 unveiled a deal with Türkiye to enhance cooperation on tackling illegal migration, which includes a new operational "center of excellence" to be established by the Turkish National Police.

"In the fight against irregular migration and migrant smugglers, which is a global problem, we are holding bilateral talks with source, transit and destination countries of migration, including the United Kingdom,” the ministry said in a written statement on Aug. 10.

Reminding that the Migration Dialogue meetings between the U.K. and Türkiye have been held annually since 2019, the statement said, "We agree on intelligence sharing with the U.K. in the fight against irregular migration and the migrant smuggling mechanism."

Political instabilities, armed conflicts, and economic challenges create a migration pressure all over the world, the statement noted.

Preventing irregular migration and ensuring that people do not lose their lives on perilous journeys at the hands of human smugglers are among the primary goals of the ministry, the statement said.

"We constantly raise and keep these humanitarian issues on the regional and international agenda. We are a country that is active, listened to, whose contributions are accepted and whose cooperation is sought in the organizations we are a member of, notably in the United Nations."

"As Ankara cooperate with numerous countries to combat migrant smuggling and irregular migration, we have also reached an agreement with the U.K. Our fight against irregular migration will continue uninterruptedly,” it added.

British Interior Minister Suella Braverman on Aug. 8 announced the deal, saying, “Our partnership with Türkiye, a close friend and ally, will enable our law enforcement agencies to work together on this international problem and tackle the small boat supply chain.”