Events

 SIDE EVENT ON

“Migration, Trade and the Global Economy”

Palmeraie Conference Center, Marrakesh, Morocco

The rapid expansion of a globalized economy supported by a trade and investment system of rules, processes and institutions seems to be interacting with migration flows in ways not experienced before. Trade agreements in a North-South context upgrade the skills and qualifications of foreign service providers. Aid for Trade (AfT) projects which are linked to diasporas’ transnational engagements support market mechanisms towards improved livelihood opportunities for unemployed youth in countries of origin and transit. 

To date, migration has been largely considered from a defensive and security-oriented point of view, as opposed to a socio-economic perspective. As a result, migration policies are characterized by a lack of coordination and coherence with other policy areas such as trade, finance and investment domestically and internationally. 

This event, at the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), will draw upon common concern as an evolving principle of international law to inform the concept of migration. Second, the discussion will aim to identify reciprocal interests and the manner in which an understanding of the interactions between migration and trade policies can contribute to the optimal fulfillment of objectives in both migration and trade domains. Third, the discussion will place youth unemployment at the heart of the trade-migration nexus. 

The side-event - jointly organized by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), the National Center for Competence in Research (nccr-on the move), University of Bern, and OCP Policy Center, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) - will promote increased awareness on the way that trade preferences, trade agreements and Aid for Trade/diaspora-for-trade can support the objectives of the GCM. Understanding the interaction between trade and migration in the context of the GCM will support the integration of migrants into labour markets and better protection of migrants’ rights in a globalized economy.

Partners: 
- International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
- International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- OCP Policy Center (OCPPC)
- European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM)
- National Center for Competence in Research (nccr-on the move)
- University of Bern (UB)
- with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)

Agenda

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