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The Philippines is one of 24 states represented in the First Annual
Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration now ongoing in
Nuremberg, Germany, until today, said the Department of Labor and
Employment.
Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D.
Roque said that this forum that tackles important issues of labor
migration, is sponsored by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the
United States. It started on July 9 and is supported by the
Germany-based Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Roque said the historic “Marshall Plan” has
been a key instrument in the recovery, rebuilding, and economic
regeneration of Europe, and its positive, peaceful effects have also
brought benefits to other economies.
“Specifically, the initiative of the German
Marshall Fund in the United States to organize the forum also
demonstrates the global importance of migration, in which the
Philippines continues to have a leading and productive part,” he
said.
He cited that in January to May alone, some
516,466 documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been
globally deployed in more than 190 host destinations worldwide.
Global dollar remittances of the OFWs reached
$5.4 billion from January to April this year, affirming Philippine
leadership in productive global migration and the distinct global
preference for skilled and semi-skilled OFWs.
“Indeed, we hope that the forum under the
historic context of the Marshall Plan, and within the ambit of the
global community of nations in productively managing global
migration, will contribute to the greater understanding of
immigration and integration issues and promote effective bilateral
cooperation.”
According to the GMF, some 60 emerging leaders
from both migrant sending and receiving countries, and several
international organizations and European institutions, are
participating in the forum that will be held at the Castle
Pommensfelden, near Nuremberg, Germany, this month.
They include the Philippines, Bulgaria, China,
Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Gambia, Senegal,
Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United
States, along with the United Nations Development Program,
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and
Organization for Undocumented Migrant Workers.
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