Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar has discussed the worsening illegal migration crisis with several Italian officials in Rome. Thursday's visit comes after the Italian cabinet declared a state of emergency to deal with the increasing number of irregular migrants. Data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior indicates that about 31,300 migrants have arrived since the beginning of 2023. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Taiani, said in a statement carried by Aki news agency that Rome would bring 4,000 trained Tunisian workers. Taiani added that the goal is to "promote legal migration," adding that combating human traffickers and illegal migration is "essential for Tunisia and Italy. He asserted that the two countries are serious about their cooperation, and the agreements still in force will be implemented. The Tunisian Foreign Ministry announced the visit, which came at the invitation of Talani, saying it would be an occasion to discuss ways to address illegal migration according to a comprehensive approach that serves the economic interest of both countries. It also promotes legal and circular migration and investments and helps create job opportunities for the youth. The Tunisian coasts are witnessing a record influx of migrants, compared to previous years, towards the Italian shores in search of better opportunities. The most significant proportion of migrants hails from sub-Saharan African countries, according to data from the Tunisian Naval Forces. More than 28,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year, according to Italian authorities, compared to 6,900 in the same period last year. Rome says that Tunis has become the first transit country in the region to its territory this year, ahead of Libya. Tunisia's coastguard confirmed that it recovered 25 bodies from a shipwreck off Tunisia. The coastguard stated that a wooden boat packed with about 110 migrants sank on Wednesday off the coast of Sfax, and it recovered the bodies of 14 migrants, including six women from African countries and one Tunisian who was the captain of the boat. The national guard official, Houssem Eddin Jebabli, announced earlier that the bodies of ten migrants from sub-Saharan African countries had been recovered. The Maritime Security Units in the Sousse region rescued 14 Tunisians, including five females and nine children. The Maritime Security Units in the Monastir region apprehended six Tunisians preparing for an illegal migration trip to the northern shore of the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 441 migrants drowned trying to cross the central Mediterranean in the first three months of 2023, the most fatalities in three months since 2017. According to the organization's Missing Migrants Project, half of those deaths were linked to delays in state-led rescue efforts and, in one case, the absence of any rescue mission. "Delays in State-led rescues on the Central Mediterranean route were a factor in at least six incidents this year, leading to the deaths of at least 127 people. The complete absence of response to a seventh case claimed the lives of at least 73 migrants," said the organization. IOM Director General, António Vitorino, said the "persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable." According to IOM, the 441 deaths documented in the year's first three months are likely an undercount of lives lost in the Central Mediterranean. Over the Easter weekend, 3,000 migrants reached Italy, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to 31,192 people.