Abela says immigration issues must be addressed with countries of origin, transit
Malta has always emphasised that the issue of irregular immigration needs to be tackled at the source, involving countries from where migrants depart and those they transit into before moving on to their destination, Prime Minister Robert Abela told
Malta has always emphasised that the issue of irregular immigration needs to be tackled at the source, involving countries from where migrants depart and those they transit into before moving on to their destination, Prime Minister Robert Abela told a migration forum held in Libya on Wednesday.
Addressing the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, organized by the Libyan Government and attended by different European member-states and African countries, Abela said that there cannot be “an effective strategy for immigration without involving the countries of origin and transit as well as clear and rational aims which can work hand in hand with these countries.”
Abela mentioned two categories of immigrants; those who escape from their country due to conflict and those who leave due to economic reasons. He added that these two types require specific solutions with involvement of the countries of origin, transit and destination.
Abela said that ways must be found to financially aid countries in difficulty to develop opportunities for their people.
“Malta is a small country but we lead by example when we speak against human trafficking,” Abela said.
He said that he is strongly in favour of more cooperation which must come from countries of origin during the repatriation process of citizens who are found to have been living illegally in the destination country and do not deserve asylum. He added that repatriation and frontier security are also part of important efforts to continue the fight against human trafficking.
Abela said Malta has long been pushing on a European level in favour of strategic cooperation between Europe and Africa and pointed out how transit countries such as Libya are already doing much.
Abela mentioned the Valletta Summit on Immigration that had been held in Malta and said that the principles of the summit remain relevant to this day with a need, greater than ever before, for strategies to improve the quality of life and decrease the urge for irregular immigration.
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