On October 6, 2005, the External Affairs Vice Presidency and the Development Economics Vice Presidency of the World Bank jointly organized a seminar entitled “International Migration: Problem or Opportunity?” in the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. The seminar was organized in conjunction with the launch of a new report by the Global Commission on International Migration, “Migration in an Interconnected World: New Directions for Action.”
About 180 million people worldwide live outside their countries. This trend translated into a large volume of remittances, which in developing countries total more than US$150 billion a year. Migration boosts world income, but includes a massive brain drain from the poorest countries. The dialogue that took place during the seminar sought answers as to whether there are more gains or losses in international migration, which is contentious and continues to grow. The seminar featured opening remarks by Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank Group and was chaired by Danny Leipziger, Vice President of the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Vice Presidency.
Wolfowitz provided the opening remarks in which he welcomed the cochairs of the Global Commission on International Migration, as well as the distinguished members of the panel and the audience. He also emphasized the importance of the Commission as the first multilateral institution addressing the critical development issue of international migration.
Ambassador Jan Karlsson and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, co-chairs of the Global Commission on International Migration, presented on some of the main findings in the report. Karlsson noted that the issue of international migration has risen to the top of the global political and development agenda due to its huge implications on the international economy. Ramphele pointed out that the report also sought to explore ways in which the negative consequences of migration of skilled workers could be minimized.
The panel of commentators featured remarks by Alan Winters, Director of Development Research Group of the World Bank; Susan Martin, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University; and Kathleen Newland, Director and Cofounder of the Migration Policy Institute.
The discussion session that followed featured comments by many of the Commissioners, including Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The questions raised concerned such issues as the World Bank’s role in addressing the development issue of migration, the sex and gender differentials in migration, and the elimination of remittance transaction costs by countries other than Mexico.
Home
> Learning
& Knowledge > BSPAN
> Presentation
High Speed
Low Speed
