India, US sign MoU for cooperation on migration issues
By Arun Kumar, IANSWednesday, September 15, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Indian Council of Overseas Employment (ICOE) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Washington think tank for cooperation on migration policy issues like the impact of labour migration on economic development.
ICOE, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), and independent Washington think tank Migration Policy Institute (MPI) both carry out research and policy development on international migration.
The memorandum signed here Wednesday establishes a basis for cooperation between the two institutions on topics ranging from international migration issues and migration policy to the impact of labour migration on economic development in source and destination countries, the Indian embassy said.
Signing the MoU, ICOE chairman A. Didar Singh said: “India’s 5,000-year history of migration has led us to a deep appreciation of the importance of migration to India’s development as a modern economy and to its relations with countries around the globe.”
“ICOE’s collaboration with MPI will help us to enlarge our exploration of the ways in which India can benefit from globalisation.”
MPI president Demetrios G. Papademetriou said: “India is a major force in international migration dynamics and represents one of the largest and most successful immigrant communities in the United States.”
“MPI looks forward to a vigorous programME of joint research and policy exploration of global trends in migration.”
The memorandum of understanding has a term of three years and can be renewed on the agreement of both parties.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
