IOM hails Renzi's migration compact (2)

(ANSA) - Istanbul, May 24 - William Lacy Swing, the director general of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), on Tuesday hailed Premier Matteo Renzi's proposed migration compact to change the way the European Union handles asylum seekers. "We fully support Premier Renzi's initiative," Lacy Swing told ANSA at the fringes of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul. "We consider it to be a first step in the right direction, not the only one, but a good start. "We have sent a letter to all the 28 countries of the EU to support Renzi's appeal for a long-term strategy". The migration compact proposes offering greater development aid and resettlement programs to African countries in exchange for cooperation in controlling migration flows and the screening of economic migrants and refugees.