German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Cairo Thursday on a two-day trip to Egypt and Tunisia, in a push to limit migrant flows to Europe through North Africa.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Cairo Thursday on a two-day trip to Egypt and Tunisia, in a push to limit migrant flows to Europe through North Africa, especially chaos-torn Libya.

Turmoil exploited by people smugglers since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi has made Libya the main gateway for African migrants seeking to make dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

Merkel, who faces elections in September, has been under intense pressure to reduce the number of asylum seekers coming to Germany, which has taken in over one million migrants since 2015.

Her government has urged the North African states to step up border controls and speed up repatriations of migrants whose asylum applications are rejected.

Merkel is scheduled to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday, followed by meetings with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Egypt’s top Muslim cleric.

She will depart to Tunisia on Friday to meet Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.

She will “inform herself of the situation of Coptic Christians” and “speak to (Tayeb) about tolerance and the peaceful co-existence of religion,” her spokesman Steffan Seibert said in a video uploaded on his Twitter account.

Merkel is joined by a business delegation that could sweeten the diplomacy with investments badly needed by both countries, which are grappling with sluggish economies, extremist attacks and high unemployment, especially among youths.

“The chancellor will speak with Sisi about, among other things, economic cooperation and opportunities for German companies,” Seibert said.

A major focus in Egypt and Tunisia will be on their troubled neighbor Libya, a largely lawless country that has porous desert borders with Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan.