14 April 2017, 22:01 GMT
ROME (Sputnik) — A total of 20 rescue operations coordinated by the central command in Rome were carried out with participation of the Italian Coast Guard, the country’s Navy, and the EU military naval operation in the Mediterranean, dubbed EunavforMed, or Operation Sofia, as well as ships of several non-governmental organizations.
Earlier in May, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano announced that the country would host an international ministerial conference on the issue of migration. According to the minister, the conference is set to be held on July 6, bringing together representatives of Libya and other countries hit by the crisis, as well as EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
According to the latest IOM data, a total of 43,000 refugees have already arrived in Europe via sea routes in 2017, with over 1,000 asylum seekers drowning while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
