More than 200 migrant deaths were recorded in the Mediterranean in January 2018 so far, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"It is an ongoing tragedy. We have already lost a couple of hundred people in January alone," William Lacy Swing, IOM’s director general, said in an exclusive interview in Davos.

Swing also called on participants in Davos from private sector to provide jobs to migrants.

Earlier this month, the UN had warned about a deadly beginning of the year for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and appealed for more resettlement places and other safe alternatives to protect them.

Noting that the issues of migrants have been widely discussed in Davos compared to recent years, Swing said there would be six events in Davos on migration.

Over 3,000 participants from more than 110 countries and more than 340 public figures are attending the forum, for which security is expected to cost nearly $10 million.

The heads of states included 10 from Africa, nine from the Middle East and North Africa, six from Latin America and 40 Western leaders.

"I appreciated very much that Turkey is the world largest refugee hosting country. You have more than 3 million refugees in Turkey. We are working very closely with Turkish government," Swing said.

"We have one of the largest operations in Ankara, Istanbul, Gaziantep and a couple of other places. So, we very much appreciate that," he said.