The United States and Europe will be at disadvantage if they built too many roadblocks to incoming talent in the name of immigration measures, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. He said the flow of talent cannot be controlled as there’s a freedom of movement and people can choose to move in a democratic set-up. At a time when US President Donald Trump and European Union are tightening the measures to control foreign talent joining their workforce, Jaishankar’s statement comes a reminder to the West about the strength its immigrants actually hold.

The minister said that the most common things to do is to create opportunities, and not restricting the talent pool that is available.

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‘A balance of demand and supply’

Jaishankar acknowledged that it is necessary to strike a balance between the demand and supply to retain the workforce. However, he added, “…We can’t tell people not to go out to work. There’s a freedom of movement. We’re a democratic society. They have the freedom to travel. If they get better prospects, of course, they will look at it. The common-sense thing is to create opportunities at home.”

“For this,” he added, “we need to address both the demand and supply sides. The supply side means we have to keep increasing our output of skilled and talented people, and the demand side is that, unless we are able to sustain high growth rates, we will not be able to find opportunities for their employment and retention…”

Jaishankar was replying to a question on the increased talent migration amid growing domestic demand in India.

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Actual crisis is not related to mobility: Jaishankar

Addressing a question regarding a political, social backlash against too much immigration in various countries, EAM Dr S Jaishankar said the actual crisis is not linked to mobility, but something else. In the instances of the US and Europe, he said, there concern is that they “consciously and deliberately, over the last 2 decades, allowed their businesses to relocate. It was their choice and strategy”

“…They have to find ways of fixing it, and many of them are… The part which concerns us is to convince them that mobility, the use of talent across boundaries, is to our mutual benefit,” he said.

“That they would be net losers if they actually erected too many roadblocks to the flow of talent. As we move into an era of advanced manufacturing, we will need more talent, not less, and talent cannot be developed organically at a high rate,” the foreign affairs minister added.

Adding that there is a certain structural impediment out there, he said that one can see the tension in their own societies, and “They will probably reach some modest vivendi there.”