Dr SHEN underlined that international migration is not a new phenomenon in Asia. Being the world’s largest and most populous continent, Asia is the home to large scale of internal and international migration. In 2005, 192 million international migrants were living outside their home country, among them 50 million in Asia. International migration flows in and out of Asia can be observed in various forms: the Philippine domestic helpers in Singapore, the Korean students in the US, the Indian IT engineer in Germany, and Chinese businessmen in Italy. Asian countries play an important role in global migratory flows, acting as sending, transiting and receiving nodal points.

Dr SHEN then examined the changing dynamics of outbound and incoming migrations in Asia and discussed the challenges and opportunities arising from the population movements. He pointed out the impact of the current financial crisis on migration and migrants.