Panaji, Nov 30 (IANS) Delegates from Asian and European countries will attend the eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) conference on Management of Migratory Flows organised by the union ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) which begins in Goa Tuesday.
The two-day conference of director generals of immigration comes at a time when nearly three percent of the world population - pegged at 200 million - comprises of migrants.

“The annual growth rate in international migration is 2.9 per cent. The 21st century is said to be the century of migration,” a concept note prepared by the MOIA states.

The 8th ASEM conference of directors general of immigration comes at a very critical juncture, when the world is slowly but steadily recovering from its worst economic crisis since the great depression, the note states.

The MOIA foresees that the coming months will see a rapid increase in the economic activity both in Europe and Asia, facilitating an increase in movement of capital, goods and most importantly people.

“The meeting will provide an opportunity to all the ASEM members to discuss ways and means of enhancing cooperation in areas like facilitating legal migration, preventing irregular migration, enhancing migration-development nexus and forging labour mobility partnerships to achieve all these through a framework of bilateral and multilateral cooperation,” the concept note said.

The MOIA concept note also points out to changing dynamics in the phenomenon of migration post globalization.

“It can no longer be said that Asia represents the origin and Europe the destination of migrants… All countries now supply workers to the international labour market and receive workers from it depending upon its needs,” it states.

The ASEM over the last 12 years has been the main multi-lateral channel for communication between Asia and Europe, strengthening interaction and mutual understanding between the two regions in the area of migration through the Conference of the Directors General of Immigration.

Speaking to IANS Monday protector general of Immigrants Ranbir Singh said that 30 delegates from 12 Asian countries and 30 delegates from 18 European countries are attending the 8th ASEM conference.

“We will also have two delegates from the European Commission and two others from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM),” Singh said.