MANILA — The Philippines and India have officially agreed to intensify their collaboration on migrant labor governance through the formation of a joint technical working group (TWG). The agreement was reached following a bilateral meeting between Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and India’s State Minister for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in New York City on Monday, May 4.
According to a statement released by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the high-level dialogue focused on establishing stronger frameworks for the mutual benefit of both countries’ overseas workforce. “The meeting highlighted opportunities for enhanced cooperation on labor migration governance, including pursuit of social protection, wage standards, financial education, reintegration, and welfare fund administration for migrant workers,” the DMW stated.
The bilateral talks were held on the sidelines of the International Migration Review Forum, which is currently taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from May 5 to 8.
The ongoing UN forum is designed to review progress at the local, national, regional, and global levels concerning the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). Utilizing a State-led approach that involves relevant stakeholders, the forum aims to evaluate current mechanisms and set the strategic direction for GCM implementation over the next five years.
During the discussions, Secretary Cacdac highlighted the vital importance of knowledge exchange between the two nations, placing a specific emphasis on the modernization of overseas employment processing.
“We are keen to learn from India’s experience, particularly in digital migration governance, as much as we would like to share with them our own best practices in protecting Filipino migrant workers, which are anchored on our rights-based approach to migration,” he said.
Both the Philippines and India rank among the top global labor-sending countries, collectively providing millions of workers for critical sectors such as healthcare, construction, domestic work, and services. The labor forces of both nations are primarily deployed to the Middle East, North America, and various European countries, making mutual cooperation highly strategic.
To ensure that the dialogue translates into actionable policy, Cacdac noted that the newly agreed-upon joint TWG will be immediately tasked to identify priority areas of cooperation.|
