Malta and Cyrus shared common worries and interests in the field of irregular migration and the Cypriot Presidency of the EU will work with all member states for the problem to be shared, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said this afternoon.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castill, Mr Christofias said: "We're not racists but we must defend the rights of our countries."

Mr Demetris arrived in Malta yesterday on a two-day working visit ahead of Cyprus assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1.

Dr Gonzi said that bilateral relations between the two countries had grown exponentially since EU accession and the two countries were in full agreement on the need to move hand in hand with the EU's cohesion agenda.

"Europe needs growth, Dr Gonzi said.

Mr Christofias said that the response to the Eurozone crisis should be guided by social sensitivity and a focus on the needs of society's most vulnerable.

Globalisation was sometimes positive, sometimes negative. What happens in bigger countries eventually affected smaller countries like Cyprus and Malta.

In the Cypriot case, he said, the banking system was negatively influenced by Greek bonds and now found itself with big problems.

He hoped Greece would avoid the worst case scenario.

The Cypriot President also spoke on Turkey saying it had to fulfil its obligations before it could accede to the EU. This, he said, was something Malta had said consistently.

Resolving the Turkish-Cyprus issue remained an aim of the Cypriot state but there was a lack of political will, he lamented.

Mr Christofias and Dr Gonzi also discussed the rising violence in Syria and Libya, tourism, energy, water resources and the future financing of the EU.