Sri Lanka co-hosts key South Asian consultation on migration

•  Foreign Affairs Ministry pushes for expansion of regularised migration pathways among countries to counter brain drain

By Nuzla Rizkiya

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration, recently co-hosted the South Asia Sub-Regional Consultation on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). 

The event, which took place in Colombo on November 5 and 6, was attended by several high-level officials and representatives from Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan, along with local stakeholders and UN agencies. 

The discussions focused on critical migration issues in the South Asian region, including labour migration, counter-trafficking and climate-induced displacement, in an effort to improve regional cooperation among the countries.

At the consultation, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane stressed the need to create a balanced migration framework for the South Asian region, which would help countries mitigate the negative impacts of migration on their societal and human resources.

“A balanced migration framework can contribute to addressing unemployment and has clear economic and social benefits. Broadening regularised pathways for labour migration is therefore a win-win situation for both labour-originating and labour-receiving countries,” she stated.

Sri Lanka too is a country currently grappling with a severe brain drain, with many citizens migrating abroad, looking for more lucrative employment opportunities over the limited options available domestically. 

Although the migrant workers’ remittances are a key contributor to the country’s economy, the challenges related to labour migration such as human trafficking and climate-induced displacement are critical problems that should be urgently addressed through comprehensive regional cooperation and policy reforms.

Citing these issues, Wijewardane highlighted Sri Lanka’s long-standing role in the regional leadership on migration and reaffirmed the nation’s strong interest in becoming a GCM Champion Country.

An outcome document detailing the deliberations of the Colombo consultations will be developed for discussion at the Second Regional Review on the GCM implementation, which is scheduled to take place from February 4 to 6, 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Comprising 23 objectives, the GCM is the first inter-governmental agreement adopted by the UN member states in 2018, to address all aspects and issues related to migration.