Malta, Spain focus on illegal migration

"In order to fight the problem of illegal immigration effectively, we must make sure to close all routes across the Mediterranean," Foreign Minister Michael Frendo told visiting Spanish Justice Minister Fernando Lopez Aguila on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Dr Frendo referred to his visit to Libya last week and said that from meetings he had with the Libyan foreign affairs and justice secretaries he noted there is a realisation in Libya that illegal immigration is an important area for collaboration with neighbouring countries.

Dr Frendo expressed Malta's full support for the high level meeting to be held later on this year conjointly between Spain and Morocco on illegal immigration, an initiative on the same lines as that proposed by Malta and Libya in the joint non-paper discussed and approved last June in Malta by the 5+5 ministers of foreign affairs.

Mr Lopez Aguila said his visit to Malta had a significant meaning within the context of cooperation on the issue of illegal immigration.

"Within the European Union, illegal immigration is the number one priority for the Spanish government," he said.

The two ministers agreed that the issue of illegal immigration needs to be tackled on a Europe-wide level and that there is no overnight solution to end the phenomenon, the Foreign Ministry said.