Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist April-May 2019 | Page 19

COUNTRY FOCUS Another option is to accept the fact of declining and graying population, increasing shortages of manpower and its consequences in terms of slowing down of economy and reduction in the standard of living of the people. This is not an option because no society will accept its own decline and eventual death without a determined fi ght. Another viable option is to encourage immigration on a selected basis in accordance with the needs of society. This will alleviate the shortages of skilled manpower but will increase cultural diversity and may increase the social cost. This is the least painful and good option provided the impact of resulting cultural diversity can be managed at an acceptable economic and social cost. Political and social opposition to immigration is partly due to lack of awareness or due to lack of proper understanding of the subject. Some objections are related to some particular kinds of immigrants. Some objections are related to emotional issues and are not based on actual facts about the contributions of the immigrants to the host society. Thus there is a need for a calm and rational approach to immigration based on felt needs. Immigrants can certainly renew, strengthen and supplement the population of working age. This will ultimately lead to an increase of workers, reduction of dependency ratio, expansion of pension resources and acceleration of economic growth. To the extent possible the social costs of immigration can be reduced by importing skills and services in digital form. Many of the perceived negative points of immigration can be avoided or substantially reduced by a rigorous process of selecting the immigrants in accordance with the needs of the host country and imparting them technical skills and social orientation in advance. For all the political diffi culties immigrant can cause Europe will need more of them if it wants to avoid shrinking its economy. Without immigrants, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands will face a signifi cant decline in the sizes of their economies. Even sustaining migrants at current levels most East European and Mediterranean countries are unlikely to prevent the shrinking population. Where can Europe fi nd such immigrants and or skilled services in digital form? India is an obvious choice for many reasons. Globally India is uniquely placed in terms of the size of its population (1.3 billion) and availability of working age persons. About 65 percent of India’s population is under 35 years of age and a little over 70 percent of the country’s population will be of working age by the year 2025. This will give India a signifi cant competitive edge compared to the aging societies in Europe, Japan, and to some extent in China. At the same time, it poses a major challenge for India to fi nd gainful employment for such a large number of persons. After meeting the manpower needs of its rapidly growing economy, India will have a large pool of persons who can be educated and trained for global placement. Thus the availability of young and educated manpower, willing to migrate and willing to acquire necessary skills and undergo cultural orientation, makes India a very attractive source of migrants. India has facilities and institutes of higher learning for imparting necessary skills and training with support from the European countries which need this manpower. Almost every major European country has a signifi cant number of Indian knowledge workers and has a positive experience with them. The Netherlands has more than ten thousand Indian knowledge workers and their number is steadily growing. By and large Indian workers are law abiding, hard working and competent workers. Bringing skilled young workers from India to Europe in accordance with the needs of European businesses and societies is a win-win proposition for India and Europe. One the one hand it will help in the solution of a critical structural problem facing Europe. On the other hand, it will provide employment opportunities, the experience of working in developed countries and working with advanced technologies and building global networks which can be very valuable in promoting trade between India and Europe. This will further enhance the remittances sent by the Indian Diaspora to India, which at 79 billion U.S. dollars every year, is already the highest in the world. India is a substantial exporter of ICT enabled services to Europe. This can be increased further to help alleviate long term structural problem facing Europe. Based on a pilot project which the Foundation for Critical Choices for India (FCCI) is developing in the Netherlands under my guidance, a circular ecosystem will be developed by involving all the stakeholders for the smooth and seamless mobility of skills between the Netherlands and India. This will not only expand the supply of skilled manpower from India to the Netherlands but also enhance the fl ow of Dutch technologies in agriculture, horticulture, water management, waste management and many other fi elds to India. After the success of the pilot project in the Netherlands, it will be expanded to other European countries.  *Author is the Founder & Chairman Emeritus of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT), a founder and President Emeritus of the Foundation for Critical Choices for India (FCCI), Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awardee and a Knight in the Royal Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau. He can be contacted at [email protected] Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 4 • April-May 2019, Noida • 19