Italy and IOM tighten partnership to expand legal migration pathways across the Mediterranean

At a high-level meeting held at the Farnesina on 20 October 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister Massimo Dell’Utri and IOM Chief of Staff Mohammed Abdiker agreed to deepen cooperation on assisted voluntary returns, labour-mobility schemes and capacity-building in Sahel transit countries. The gathering brought together senior officials from Italy’s Interior and Labour ministries and IOM regional envoys. Dell’Utri outlined a three-pillar approach that underpins Rome’s migration diplomacy: tackling root causes through the ‘Piano Mattei’ investment programme, combating irregular trafficking networks, and opening safe, regular channels for work and training. The Deputy Minister cited an 80 % drop in irregular arrivals over the last three years as evidence that the model is working. Italy has channelled more than €280 million in migration-cooperation funds since 2021, much of which is managed by UN agencies. New projects for 2027 will focus on expanding “humanitarian corridors” and matching African vocational graduates with Italian SMEs facing labour shortages—an initiative that dovetails with the recently enlarged Decreto Flussi quotas. For multinational employers the message is that the government intends to scale up pilot circular-migration schemes, potentially offering additional hiring avenues outside the competitive quota click days. Companies operating in construction, agri-food and health care should track forthcoming tenders for training and job-matching projects, which may come with public subsidies. The IOM praised Italy’s decision to make labour-mobility a central plank of its external migration policy, calling it a “template for pragmatic solidarity” within the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Further technical talks will be scheduled in early 2027 to finalise programme details.