External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday cautioned that countries such as the United States and those in Europe risk harming their own interests and would end up being “net losers" if they impose excessive restrictions on immigration and cross-border movement of skilled workers.

Responding to a question on the political and social backlash against immigration in several nations, Jaishankar, speaking at an event in New Delhi, said, “A lot of these are issues which they have to resolve because, in many cases."

“The actual crisis has nothing to do with the mobility of the incoming workforce," he added.

He argued that concerns in Western countries were the result of long-standing policy choices.

“If there are concerns, let us say, in the United States or in Europe, it is because they very consciously and deliberately, over the last two 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 External Affairs Minister said.

He said the focus should be on demonstrating the shared benefits of the free flow of skilled labour.

“The part which concerns us is to convince them that mobility, the use of talent across boundaries, is to our mutual benefit. That they would be net losers if they actually erected too many roadblocks to the flow of talent," he said.

With economies moving toward advanced manufacturing, Jaishankar stressed that the demand for specialised talent will only grow.

“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. There is a certain structural impediment out there. In their own societies, you can see the tension," he said.

He added that Western nations would eventually find a way to balance these pressures, saying, “They will probably reach some modest vivendi there."

Source: News18