Malta-Libya illegal migration accord in the pipeline

Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammed Tahar Sila, confirmed his country's intention to sign an illegal immigration agreement with Malta similar to the one Tripoli has with Italy.

This commitment was made when he met a delegation from the European Parliament, led by Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil.

During the meeting in Libya, the minister said that according to the agreement with Italy all illegal immigrants sent back by the Italian authorities are repatriated to their countries of origin.

"When illegal immigrants are returned to Libya, our mission is to contact the different embassies to verify their nationality and get them a travel visa. Afterwards we repatriate them to their country of origin. We are very happy that Italy cooperates with us by financing some of the return flights," he said.

He added that "those whose nationality cannot be verified remain in Libyan detention camps".

Mr Tahar Sila said that Libya is hoping to have similar arrangements with France and Spain.

The majority of illegal immigrants landing on Maltese shores are known to depart from Libya and the proposed agreement is thought to contribute towards easing the illegal immigration problem in Malta.

Speaking to The Times from Tripoli, Dr Busuttil said the situation in Malta was one of the main topics discussed during his delegation's meetings with various Libyan authorities.

On his return to Brussels today, Dr Busuttil is expected to give a press conference at the European Parliament on the main findings of his mission.

Apart from high-level meetings, Dr Busuttil's delegation visited detention centres where the members had the opportunity to interview some of the illegal immigrants there.