Belgium 2007

The Philippines' Department of Finance has entered into bilateral negotiations with the US Treasury Department with the intent of reducing remittance costs. The means by which cost reduction is to be achieved is through the granting of rights to local banks to form agreements with their counterparts in the US, thereby enhancing access to the formal transfer systems and at the same time ensuring compliance with regulations concerning financial flows. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for the purpose. 

The central banks of Mexico and the US have signed an agreement that allows banks to to transmit electronic fund transfers from the USA to Mexico through the Federal Reserve Banks’ Automated Clearing House (FED - ACH).

The FedGlobal Mexico Service offers US financial institutions the added benefit and convenience of promotional materials and tools to aid in promoting the service to their customers and pre-opening accounts at participating institutions in Mexico.

In these agreements regulating labour migration flows, the Spanish authorities, through Spanish Embassies in origin countries, notify the origin countries’ authorities of the number and type of workers needed, taking into account existing job offers. (There is no set quota; rather, the employers in Spain request a certain number of needed workers.) Origin countries in turn notify the Spanish authorities, through the Spanish Embassies, of the possibility of meeting this demand with their nationals willing to go to Spain.

The Spanish initiative seeks to enhance Remittances as an effective source of finance for development, by no means trying to substitute current flows of development aid. The Spanish initiative considers the involvement of the Public Administration, the financial sector, university circles and civil society.

By choosing to focus on Remittances Spain tries to make most of its experience as a Remittances receiving country during the 60s and 70s to help developing countries.

This project promotes the regular migration of Colombian workers to Spain and enhances the impact of migration on development, particularly in local communities.

The main objective of Pagesos Solidaris is to participate in the human, economic and social development of rural communities and to give these communities support to develop organizational structures. To this end the Foundation aims to:

Senegal and France have signed a cooperation agreement on health engaging the Senegalese diaspora in French hospitals and universities.

Bangladesh signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding EPS with the Korean government on June 4, 2007 which founded the principles of sending manpower from Bangladesh to Korea. Ministry of Labor of Korea and Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment of Bangladesh are the administrative and decision-making ministries of the respective countries with regard to recruitment of Bangladeshi workers under EPS.

The South Korean Employment Permit System adopts a government-to-government placement approach to minimize exploitation of temporary migrant workers, notably the excessive recruitment free. Recruitment and deployment under its MOUs with countries like Bangladesh and the Philippines will thus be via the government recruitment arms. This could reduce the costs of migrating to nominal cost-recovery level. 

The MOU focuses on two main areas: the sharing of expertise and information on a range of key areas, and opportunities for time-limited placements in each other’s countries.

The sharing of skills and expertise between the two countries has led to the development of many links, based on requests and identified needs. There have also been a number of twinning arrangements between individual UK and South African institutions.