Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will today fly to Rome for his first official meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi since he took over the Italian premiership a few months ago.

Dr Gonzi, who will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, will be meeting Professor Prodi in Palazzo Chigi at 11am this morning. Following the meeting, which is expected to last around an hour, Dr Gonzi and Prof. Prodi will address Maltese and Italian journalists at a joint press conference.

The two Prime Ministers are expected to cover issues related to the situation in the European Union but discussion will most probably revolve around irregular immigration, which is affecting Malta more than other countries in the Mediterra-nean.

They will certainly discuss the repatriation agreement signed by Italy with Libya that facilitates the repatriation of irregular immigrants to Libya, from where most of them depart. Malta will probably seek Italy’s assistance for a similar agreement for Malta.

Dr Gonzi is expected to leave Italy shortly after the meeting.