“In order to fight the problem of illegal immigration effectively, we must make sure to close all routes across the Mediterranean.” This was stated by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo in a meeting with Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Spain Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, during a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday afternoon.
During the meeting Foreign Minister Frendo made reference to his recent visit to Libya last week and said that from meetings he had with Libyan Foreign Affairs and Justice Secretaries, there is a realisation in Libya that illegal immigration is an important area for collaboration with neighbouring countries.
Foreign Minister Frendo expressed Malta’s full support for the high level meeting to be held later on this year conjointly between Spain and Morocco on illegal immigration, which is an initiative on the same lines as proposed by Malta and Libya in the joint non-paper discussed and approved last June in Malta by the 5+5 Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
On his part, Minister Lopez Aguilar expressed Spain’s agreement on the analysis and importance given to the problem of illegal immigration, “this is the first bilateral visit of a Spanish Minister of Justice to Malta. My visit to Malta has a significant meaning in the context of cooperation on the issue of illegal immigration” said Minister Lopez Aguilar.
The Minister of Justice of Spain also agreed with Foreign Minister Frendo to keep up the pressure in all formats within all meetings that take place within the European Union and Euromed structures: “Within the European Union, illegal immigration is the number 1 priority for the Spanish Government” said Minister Lopez Aguilar.
The two Ministers agreed that the issue of illegal immigration needs to be tackled on a Europe-wide level and that there is no overnight solution to end the phenomenon.
In the meantime, Minister Lopez Aguilar had separate meetings with Maltese Justice Minister Tonio Borg and also called on the President of Malta Dr Edward Fenech Adami at the Palace in Valletta. During the meeting between the Spain Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Borg, the issue of illegal immigration was also tackled. Both declared closer cooperation between the two countries.
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