UPDATED - Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this afternoon had a meeting in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Entrico Letta, with the focus being on migration.
Both prime ministers described their talks as important and fruitful, with Mr Letta saying that the EU needed to give more importance to immigration and Mediterranean affairs, and that could happen with the forthcoming Greek presidency, followed by the Italian presidency.
Dr Muscat said the two leaders had spoken on possible initiatives. He also had a discussion on the phone last week with Greek Prime Minister Samaras.
Mr Letta said he woudl travel to Athens on Monday week.
He said the two sides had also discussed issues related to the search and rescue area and military and coastguard cooperation.
Mr Letta said Malta was a natural partner of Italy regarding immigration and Mediterranean affairs.
“We have common positions and common thought and we will rope in Malta to prepare for these two presidencies,” he said.
He said that in Libya, from where the migrants leave on their journey across the Mediterranean, there was a need institution building.
Last week Dr Muscat insisted that Libya needed to be seen as part of the solution to the migration problem, and not its cause.
The two prime minister also discussed bilateral relations, which they described as excellent.
Malta confirmed it would participate in Expo 2015. Greece had also confirmed its attendance.
Among the areas discussed this afternoon were oil exploration and the delineation of exploration areas.
The Italian prime minister accepted an invitation to visit Malta while he again reiterated his country;s commitment to give a Mediterranean focus to Italy’s EU presidency.
Before meeting Mr Letta Dr Muscat replied to a range of questions from the international media, with immigration being the most prominent.
A Daily Mail journalist asked whether, in a Catholic country such as Malta, there was disquiet over the Pope's comments on migration.
Dr Muscat said he did not hear a single word of criticism. The Pope, he said, hit the nail on the head. Malta's situation, he said, was worse than Lampedusa because after a few weeks migrants are transferred from Lampedusa to mainland Italy, while those who arrive in Malta, were stuck here.
He said the situation in Libya was changing. Libya was no longer demanding money to tackle migration and it wanted to work on a solution to this issue. The EU should grasp this opportunity.
Dr Muscat said that it was not enough for the EU to hear Malta or to give financial assistance, and coordinated action was needed in this sector.
Asked about the cultural impact of migration, Dr Muscat said he did not subscribe to theory of foreigners taking over. The government, he said, was keen on integration, which until some time ago was a dirty word. But to have a feasible integration policy one had to have to have feasible numbers.
"We want to show that we are willing to tackle issue head-on even though some think we are not totally politically correct."
He said the government was committed to an anti-xenophobic policy but people had to realise that their government was seriously tackling the problem. People were more worried on the immediate impact than anything else.
"We are people of mixed races. Most of us come from Sicily, Lebanon, Libya and France. Multiculturalism is not the issue. We cannot cope with these numbers," he said, adding that the issue was also one of national security because Malta's borders were not secure.