India and the European Union on Friday discussed steps that they could jointly take to prevent and counter irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings in accordance with respective legislative frameworks and applicable international law.

At the 7th India-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility here, the two sides reiterated their commitment to enhance cooperation on the return of irregular migrants.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Anurag Bhushan, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and Mr Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate- General for Migration and Home Affairs. They reaffirmed their determination to strengthen cooperation to promote safe, orderly and regular migration between India and the EU.

They recognised the long-standing bilateral relations between India and the EU on migration, recalled the existing Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility that was signed in 2016, and noted that a coordinated and mutually beneficial management of migration supports the economic, social and cultural development of India and the EU.

Both sides expressed their mutual interest in facilitating labour mobility and decent work within existing legislative frameworks and in respect of national competences. In view of India’s growing human capital and EU Member States’ demographic and labour market needs, both sides acknowledged the need for deeper and closer engagement on mobility within the India-EU Migration Corridor.

Both sides recalled the achievements of a joint work programme supporting the Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility implemented between 2017 and 2022, which has greatly advanced cooperation between India and the EU in the area of migration and mobility.

In order to continue and further operationalise cooperation, in particular on facilitating legal migration and countering irregular migration, in line with the stated intentions of each party, a second phase of the work programme was launched in a ceremony immediately after the dialogue.