India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar cautioned that nations tightening the flow of skilled talent across borders risk turning into “net losers,” a remark that comes as the United States considers changes to the H-1B visa program and political resistance to foreign workers gains traction across Europe.
As per him, the use of talent across boundaries is to our mutual benefit. They would be net losers if they actually erect too many roadblocks to the flow of talent and particularly if you move into an era of advanced manufacturing. Jaishankar further added, “you will need more talent not less talent.”
Speaking at India’s World conclave on “The Mobility Imperative”, Jaishankar stressed that advanced manufacturing and global innovation depend on the steady movement of talent across borders. He noted that political pushback against mobility is often driven by domestic pressures and not by economic reality.
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“In many cases the actual crisis has nothing to do with the mobility of the incoming workforce. I mean if there are concerns let us say in the United States or even in Europe it is because they very consciously and deliberately over the last two decades allowed their businesses to relocate. You know that was their choice. It was their strategy,” Jaishankar told reflecting on how businesses have been done in the U.S.
“If you see it isn’t only about concerns about immigration or mobility. It is also about loss of jobs and about recreating manufacturing and pulling back you know what was allowed to leave over many decades,” India’s External Minister added. He said the real challenge confronting Western economies is not immigration, but the steady loss of manufacturing capacity that has been outsourced over the past two decades.
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“If people don’t travel, the work will travel,” as said by Jaishankar.
Jaishankar highlighted India’s record $135 billion in remittances last year, the government’s global mobility agreements with 21 countries, diaspora welfare initiatives, and the rapid rise of 1,700 Global Capability Centres employing two million professionals. He stressed that global talent movement is mutually beneficial and essential for economic growth.
In closing, Jaishankar views talent mobility as a strategic asset rather than a political fault line. He argued that modern economies grow when skilled professionals can move freely to where innovation is happening and where industries need them most.