Press Release
Nepal’s participation in the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
The Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration commenced in Bangkok this morning. The Meeting has been organised pursuant to the request of the UN General Assembly to the UN regional commissions to organize discussions among Member States and other relevant stakeholders to examine regional aspects of international migration, and to provide inputs to the preparatory process of the Global Compact. This meeting is expected to arrive at a set of regional inputs for negotiations on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration being held in Mexico in December this year.
As the leader of the Nepali delegation, H.E. Dr. Khaga Nath Adhikari, Ambassador of Nepal in Bangkok and Permanent Representative to the UNESCAP, delivered the Country Statement. In his statement, H.E. Dr. Adhikari mentioned that the Government of Nepal has mainstreamed SDGs in its 14th Development Plan which aims at paving the way for transforming Nepal from a low-income to a middle-income country by 2030. He stressed on the need for safe, regular and dignified foreign employment opportunities for Nepali labour in the destination countries, and highlighted the efforts of government agencies, in close partnership and coordination with relevant stakeholders, towards ensuring social inclusion and safeguarding human and labour rights of the migrant workers. He underlined the importance of international cooperation in facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration.
In the morning session, in a panel discussion entitled ‘Towards the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration’, H.E. Mr. Deepak Dhital, PR/Ambassador of Nepal to UN and other International Organizations at Geneva and one of the Members of the Nepali delegation, made a presentation. As Nepal is currently Chair of Colombo Process (CP), H. E. Mr. Dhital explained the works under the five thematic areas of action of Colombo Process, namely, skills and qualification recognition process, fostering ethical recruitment, effective pre-departure orientation and empowerment, remittances, and labour market analysis. He said that the CP Member Countries comprise around 50 percent of the world population and contribute around 30 percent of the global migrant labour force, and each year the CP countries produce an additional 2.5 million migrant workers. The CP Member States are among the highest remittance-recipient countries of the world, he added. The CP has announced the theme of ‘’Safe, regular and managed migration: a win-win for all”, echoing the call of SDG target 10.7 as well as the spirit of the GFMD, he said.
Mr. Tirtha Raj Wagle, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Bhuwan Prasad Acharya, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment; and Mr Laxman Bahadur Basnet, General Secretary, South Asian Regional Trade Union Council, form part of the Nepali delegation to the Meeting.
The meeting will conclude on 8 November 2017.
Embassy of Nepal
Bangkok
06 November 2017