Tunisia and EU sign pact to stem migration

A RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) crew member from the German NGO migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 distributes life jackets to migrants on an overcrowded wooden boat during a rescue operation in international waters off the coast of Tunisia, in the western Mediterranean Sea, August 1, 2021. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File photo

(Reuters) - Tunisia's President Kais Saied and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen signed a "strategic partnership" agreement that will help combat human traffickers, the Tunisian presidency and the Dutch Prime Minister said on Sunday.

"It contains agreements on disrupting the business model of people smugglers and human traffickers, strengthening border control and improving registration and return. All essential measures for bolstering efforts to stop irregular migration," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Twitter.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara, Writing by Hatem Maher,; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)