Malta and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) signed a cooperation agreement on immigration at the Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday.

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said the agreement will help the ministry deal with the issues of migration, which have been present for many years in Malta but have reached an alarming level during the last few years.

Dr Frendo said relations between the government and the IOM began a few years back on the initiative of Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg. He said the IOM, which has over 300 offices worldwide, has much on-the-ground experience in migration that will be shared with the Maltese government. He added that through this agreement, Malta will be able to apply for funds from the EU for a programme for the training and repatriation of migrants with the aim of reintegrating them in their home society, as they are a capital loss for their societies.

He said Malta had tried to gain excess to these funds but had been denied because the EU deemed Malta did not have enough experience of the subject. Now Malta can seek the help of the IOM on this issue, on which it is an expert, said Dr Frendo.

IOM director-general Brunson McKinley said the organisation is expected to open an office in Malta by February. He said he is pleased that Malta has joined 220 other states and the other EU members in signing an agreement with IOM. Mr McKinley added that IOM will be working hard to help Malta with its particularly dramatic migration challenges.

The government, by way of this agreement, recognises IOM as an international organisation and endows it with all privileges and rights granted by Maltese law.