Malta became the 102nd member of the International Organisation for Migration.

The 86th session of the organisation's council, meeting this week in Geneva, on Tuesday unanimously resolved that Malta be admitted as a member.

In a brief intervention, following the adoption by the IOM council of Malta's membership, the head of the Maltese delegation, Saviour F. Borg, said that Malta's membership came at an important juncture in both the island's membership of the European Union and the organisation's relevance in migration, which has been described as one of the defining global issues of the early 21st century.

The go-ahead given by the IOM council to move from the status of an observer to that of membership of the organisation was a step that the government of Malta intends to fulfil through Malta's adherence to the provisions of the constitution of IOM, Mr Borg said.

Mr Borg said Malta intended to continue to play its Euro-Mediterranean role in its vocation and commitment to strengthen the dialogue among other partners in tackling the considerable increase in illegal migration in the region.

The IOM has much to offer in this regard and Malta would be working closely with the IOM to achieve this goal, he said.