Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressed the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit in New York on Monday, focusing mainly on migration. 

He said the conference was paying tribute not only to a person but rather to the values he embodied: reconciliation over revenge; cooperation over conflict; hope over hate.

"It is in this spirit of cooperation that we must grapple with the emerging challenges that are already adding to the existing economic pressures and political tensions. Whether climate change or migration, effecting change will depend on our capacity to mobilise our resources towards the underlying causes," Dr Muscat said. 

"By shifting our efforts towards sustainable development, conflict resolution and peace-building, we can try to prevent the wars and alleviate poverty that dispossess millions of people. In the near future, shifts in extreme weather risk becoming an additional factor that compels people to flee their homes and abandon their communities.

"Malta has always maintained that we are greater than the sum of our individual interests. Initiatives like the Paris Accord continue to provide scope for global optimism. This strong sign of unity should also be visible in our approach towards the refugee and migrant exodus, a phenomenon that we need to manage," the prime minister said.

He recalled the EU-Africa Summit hosted in Valletta and said the commitment towards a multilateral approach aimed at delivering a holistic plan.

"Going forward, our ability to strive towards the collective good will serve as a litmus test of our belief in the values we are celebrating today. The values of Nelson Mandela," Dr Muscat said.

The conference was addressed by, among others, EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. 

Dr Muscat is in New York for the General Assembly of the United Nations.