Prime Minister to address UN General Assembly today

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will today deliver his speech during the 68^th session of the United Nations General Assembly at around 6pm (local time).

Muscat, who is leading a Maltese delegation to New York, has also met US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and held talks with the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.

On her part, the Prime Minister's wife, Michelle met Ban Ki-Moon's wife, Soon-Taek during an event at her residence. The same event was attended to by the other spouses of the world leaders attending the general assembly.

Irregular migration was the main theme discussed during the bilateral meeting between Muscat and Ban Ki-Moon, with the Maltese Prime Minister explaining "the challenges which Malta faces".

"Status quo is unacceptable and Malta, through its EU membership, is calling on the member states to reach a reasonable and concrete solution," Muscat told the Ban Ki-Moon.

He added that countries must discuss the input that countries like Somalia and Libya can give to this phenomenon.

On his part, the UN's secretary-general said he could understand Malta's problem and said the UN appreciated the role that Malta played in the challenge it faced.

Ban Ki-Moon referred to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria, which has already left 100,000 dead and forced 7 million people to flee their country.