Foreign Minister’s video address at the Ministerial Meeting of the Champion Countries of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)

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Video Statement by Dr. Narayan Khadka, Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal in Ministerial Meeting of the Champion Countries of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)
25 March 2022, Rabat, Morocco

 

Mr. President,  

  1. Let me begin by extending our gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco for hosting this Ministerial Meeting of the Champion Countries of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
  2. The adoption of the GCM in 2018 was a historic milestone in the governance of international migration, which provided a comprehensive framework for international cooperation to address its multi-dimensional aspects. The Compact has set migration as a global phenomenon and reinforced it in the development discourse including the Sustainable Development Goals.
  3. The First International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), scheduled to be held in May 2022, will be an important moment to identify critical challenges faced during the implementation of the GCM. The IMRF should reflect all ten guiding principles of the GCM, including the whole-of-government and the whole-of-society approaches. As a Champion Country, Nepal is prepared to engage constructively in the IMRF.

Mr. President, 

  1. International migration is an important aspect of Nepal’s socio-economic landscape which contributes significantly to the GDP, knowledge and technology transfer and cultural enhancement. Despite the vulnerabilities posed by the pandemic to the migrant workers, they continue to play important roles in the receiving as well as sending countries. Their significant contributions have further bolstered the importance of making migration safer, orderly and predictable.
  2. Nepal has served as Chair of the Colombo Process, member of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue and has been actively engaged in other regional processes on migration, including Bali Process.
  3. The Constitution of Nepal recognizes the need for the governance and regulation of foreign employment to make migration free and orderly as well as safe from exploitation in order to guarantee migrants’ rights. Our development plan also sets out a long-term ambitious development vision, including eradicating multidimensional poverty. Nepal is in the process of developing a national plan for the implementation of the GCM to complement the timely achievement of SDGs.
  4. Migration, being a cross-cutting issue, demands global responses. Nepal believes that partnership and cooperation with sending, and destination countries, regional consultative groups and other entities is indispensable to maximize the contribution of migration in securing mutual development benefits.
  5. As a champion country on the CGM-6, Nepal is committed to leveraging and strengthening its existing mechanisms and working with the international community to realize the vision of safe, orderly, and regular migration.

Thank you!