Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will be flying into Malta this Sunday for an official visit that will include talks about irregular immigration.

He will meet Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Monday and the two leaders will then hold a joint news conference at Castille in Valletta, a Maltese Government official said.

The Italian Prime Minister will be reciprocating the visit made by Dr Muscat to Rome in July.

On that occasion, Mr Letta had described Malta as a natural partner of Italy on immigration and Mediterranean affairs.

He had also called for the involvement of Libya in a long-term solution to curb irregular migration from the North African coast.

The two Prime Ministers will visit the amphibious assault ship San Marco

According to reports published in the Italian media, the two Prime Ministers will visit the amphibious assault ship San Marco, from where the Italian military is coordinating the Mare Nostrum mission.

This operation was launched last month in the wake of the tragedies off the coast of Lampedusa in which hundreds of asylum seekers perished.

As well as assisting any migrants in distress, the Italian authorities are also beefing up surveillance against criminal organisations that allegedly use large vessels to transport asylum seekers.

These migrants are then transferred to dinghies and boats once the Sicilian coast is in sight.

In recent months Malta and Italy have forged closer ties and joined forces to voice their frustration over being left alone to bear the brunt of irregular migration.

In last month’s EU summit the two countries, along with Greece, rallied member states for support to form a southern European alliance aimed at tackling the humanitarian crisis.

As a result, EU leaders have agreed to take operational decisions on this matter by not later than next month, rather than by June as originally planned.