Foreign Minister Michael Frendo will once more raise the issue of illegal immigration at the General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union, being held in Luxembourg tomorrow and Tuesday.

The issue of migration will feature on the Council’s agenda. It is known that while Malta fully supports the upcoming Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development to be hosted by Morocco on 10-11 July, it is annoyed that Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea have not been invited to the Morocco meeting. Malta is expected to insist that a date is set for another projected ministerial conference between the EU and Africa to be convened in Libya.

The meeting is also expected to cover the security situation in the West Bank and Gaza as well as a proposed temporary international mechanism to channel assistance directly to the Palestinian people.

In its interventions, Malta has always reiterated its consistent support of a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict leading to a permanent two-state solution. Malta continues to emphasise the fundamental role of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in establishing a viable Palestinian state that co-exists peacefully with Israel.