Context: Chairing the Colombo Process, India, focused on safe and orderly migration for overseas employment, emphasizing renewed commitment, collaboration, and financial sustainability while presenting an action plan for membership expansion and addressing migration issues.

Key highlights

• India presented an outline of an action plan for the next two years, focusing on key priorities and initiatives to further strengthen the Colombo Process.

• In May, India assumed the chair of the Colombo Process for the first time since its inception.

• "The Process continues to play a pivotal role in enhancing regional cooperation on migration issues, and with India's leading role, there is a renewed commitment to engaging all member states actively, improving migration governance, and fostering safe, orderly, and regular migration for organised overseas employment.

About Colombo Process

• It is a Regional Consultative Process and it provides an important platform for consultations on the management of overseas employment and contractual labour for countries of origin in Asia.

• It serves as a forum for the exchange of best practices on overseas employment.

Membership

• It comprises 12 Member States of Asia (countries of origin of migrant workers).

• Members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• India has been a member of the Colombo Process since its inception in 2003.

Objectives

• Share experiences, lessons learned and best practices in labour migration management.

• Consult on issues faced by migrants, countries of origin, and countries of destination, and propose practical solutions for the well-being of overseas workers.

• Optimize development benefits from organized overseas employment and enhance dialogues with countries of destination.

• Review and monitor the implementation of the recommendations and identify further steps of action.

• The process is non-binding, and decision-making is by consensus.

• The process is coordinated through the Permanent Missions of Member States at the United Nations in Geneva. 

• The process is governed by Ministerial Consultations wherein recommendations and action plans are discussed and adopted by the Ministers of the participating countries.

• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided technical support to the Colombo Process since its inception and serves as its Secretariat.

There are five Thematic Area Working Groups (TAWGs):

• Skills and Qualification Recognition (chaired by Sri Lanka);

• Fostering Ethical Recruitment (chaired by Bangladesh);

• Pre-Departure Orientation and Empowerment (chaired by Philippines);

• Remittances (chaired by Pakistan);

• Labour Market Analysis (chaired by Thailand)