MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The two-day summit will bring together delegations from over 40 African countries, 28 EU member states, the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), EU border agency FRONTEX and a number of international organizations, to the Mediterranean Conference Centre in the island nation's capital.
The European Union and African countries are expected to work out humanitarian and safe migration policy amid the worst refugee crisis in history, addressing the root causes of the problem, including conditions in the migrants' countries of origin.
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants are fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa and attempting to find asylum in EU member states.
Many of them choose the sea route, with over 798,500 people having arrived to Europe by sea since the beginning of 2015, according to IOM data. More than 3,400 people are estimated to have lost their lives while making the deadly journey across the Mediterranean.
