Malta and Italy yesterday agreed to set up a forum between them to coordinate their efforts on illegal immigration.

The two countries will use the "forum for permanent consultation" to cooperate on matters such as search and rescue and the repatriation of immigrants.

It was also agreed to rope in Cyprus and Greece into a separate "project" aimed at tackling matters related to illegal immigration at EU level in a coordinated manner and keeping the subject high on the EU agenda.

"This group of states will be able to adopt a common approach and thus gain more relevance in the European sphere because of the homogeneous problems and realities they face with illegal immigration," the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The first meeting for ministers of participating states is being planned before the end of the French Presidency.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni.

Mr Moroni said the EU needed to react to the challenges that illegal immigration posed to Mediterranean countries.

He underlined the importance of working more closely with other member states to tackle the problem and suggested that Malta and Italy should take the leadership role in this matter in a more effective and coordinated manner.

He said the recent achievements such as the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum had to be sustained after the end of the French Presidency.

He expressed hope that this achievement will not be lost or "frozen" once the new EU presidency term starts in January 2009, when the Czech Republic takes over.

Both ministers felt there was a need to better define the brief of the Frontex missions and beef up their resources. Finally, the ministers discussed how to enhance cooperation between the police forces of both countries on tackling matters related to organised crime.

Mr Maroni also met Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille, Valletta, in the afternoon.