TRIPOLI, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj and the Maltese counterpart Robert Abela on Thursday signed a deal on fighting illegal immigration.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during a visit by Abela to the Libyan capital Tripoli, where he held talks with Serraj on the latest developments in Libya as well as mutual cooperation, the Libyan Prime Minister's Information Office said in a statement.

Serraj underlined the importance of the bilateral relations, expressing his appreciation for Malta's support to his government, as well as the aspiration to develop the bilateral cooperation.

Abela reaffirmed support for Serraj's government, stressing that there is no military solution to the Libyan crisis and that there is no alternative to political solution.

"The two sides agreed to speed up activation of political, economic and security cooperation agreements," the statement said.

Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly African, wanting to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe, due to the insecurity and chaos in the country ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime.

The two officials also discussed the recently launched European Union's IRINI operation against arms smuggling to Libya.

The operation was launched recently in order to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya, where Serraj's UN-backed government and the rival eastern-based army have been fighting for control of Tripoli since April 2019. Enditem

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