BERLIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday reiterated the importance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the fight against illegal immigration.

An important task of the IOM is to reduce "illegal migration and to create the organized and legal migration," Merkel said at a meeting with the new head of IOM Antonio Vitorino here.

The lives of refugees should be secured, and at the same time countries of origin and recipient states should be placed in a situation of control and regulation, according to Merkel.

Both sides referred to the UN Conference on Immigration in Marrakech in December, which will officially adopt the first Global Migration Pact. The implementation of the agreement is to be managed by the IOM.

The IOM head reiterated the agency's good cooperation with Germany, as well as Berlin's role in Europe, saying that he shared Merkel's priorities to combat irregular immigration and instead promote safe migration.

Since the refugee crisis in 2015, Germany has tightened its migration policies and is now cooperating with other European Union states and African countries to fight against illegal migration.