An international summit on migration will take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in the Maltese capital of Valletta on Wednesday and Thursday.

Back in April, the European Council called for the holding of an international summit to discuss migration issues with African and other key countries concerned.

The EU has taken range of measures to address the challenges posed by the unprecedented number of refugees and migrants flocking to Europe.

However migration is not just an issue for Europe to deal with and countries of origin or transit of irregular migration flows also need to be involved.

The conference will build on existing cooperation processes between Europe and Africa, particularly the Rabat and Khartoum processes on migration and the EU-Africa Dialogue on Migration and Mobility.

The EU and Africa vowed to work in a spirit of partnership to find common solutions to challenges of mutual interest.

Delegations from EU member states, member countries of the Rabat and Khartoum processes, observers to the Rabat process, representatives of the African Union commission and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commission have been invited for participation at the summit.

Representatives of the United Nations (UN), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are also expected to attend the conference.

The conference will address both the challenges and the opportunities of migration, recognising that migration is a shared responsibility of countries of origin, transit and destination.

The discussions will focus on five specific areas, namely: addressing the root causes of migration; promoting and organising legal migration channels; enhancing the protection of migrants and asylum seekers; tackling the exploitation and trafficking of migrants; improving cooperation on return and readmission.

Last week, European Council President Donald Tusk convened an informal meeting of Heads of State or Government on the latest developments in the migration crisis, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday after the conclusion of the summit in Malta.