September 03, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 9, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: The government has launched a high-level consultation process on international migration and development with an inter-ministerial preparatory conference organised by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the interior ministry.

The conference, which concluded here on Friday, was designed to create awareness among the government quarters and stakeholders ahead of the UN General Assembly high-level dialogue on international migration and development on 14-15 September in New York, said an official announcement issued here on Friday.

Ministers for interior, finance, education, foreign affairs, labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis, governor State Bank of Pakistan, chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau, federal and provincial secretaries, heads of the federal investigation agency, bureau of emigration & overseas employment, and overseas Pakistanis foundation and other stakeholders including representatives of civil society took part in the dialogue.

The discussions emphasised the need for greater focus on a coherent and integrated national migration management policy to maximise its potential contribution to development. The conference recommended improved cooperation between government departments and countries hosting Pakistani migrant workers to manage remittances, which currently amount to $5 billion a year. The costs of migration also needed to be factored into the equation.

“For countries of origin, migration benefits include remittances, poverty reduction, improved foreign reserves, improved balance of payments, knowledge and skills transfer and modernization. But an over dependency on remittances and an outflow of skilled manpower is not positive and that is why we need comprehensive migration management,” said IOM Regional Representative Hassan Abdel Moneim Mostafa.

Other issues discussed at the conference included awareness- raising campaigns to better inform would be migrants, improved data collection on migration trends and web-based labour migration schemes to match up job seekers with potential employers.

Delegates agreed that Pakistan needed better and more bilateral arrangements with major destination countries to better manage labour migration, the flow of remittances and migrants’ rights. Pakistani entrepreneurs abroad should also be encouraged to invest more in the development of their home country.