Statement by Ms Marija Raus, Regional Head, ICMPD, Vienna at the ICWA-ICMPD Capacity Building Workshop for Educational Consultants under the India-EU Common Agenda for Migration & Mobility, New Delhi, 7 November 2025 - Indian Council of World Affairs (Government of India)

Good afternoon, everyone.
Gina Uika, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs;
Mr. Petros Sourmelis, Minister Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to India and Bhutan;

Ms. Archana Nair, Joint Secretary, Indian Council of World Affairs;

Distinguished representatives from the Government of India, the EU Delegation, and EU Member States;

Our partners from ICWA, ILO, higher-education institutions, and educational-consultancy networks.
It is my great pleasure, on behalf of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), to welcome you to this Capacity Building Workshop with Educational Consultants, organised under the EU–India Cooperation and Dialogue on Migration and Mobility (CDMM) Phase II project.
As we all know, education is the cornerstone of progress and innovation. It connects cultures, ideas, and knowledge - creating a global community that thrives on shared learning and mutual respect.
The European Union and India, with their rich histories and dynamic presents, are uniquely positioned to benefit from strengthened cooperation that promotes safe, orderly, and regular migration and mobility.
The Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM), signed in 2016, specifically sought to “explore possibilities for enhanced mobility of students and researchers.”

Building on that vision, the EU–India High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility in the past years have reaffirmed the need for deeper collaboration within this vital corridor.
For over eight years, ICMPD, together with our partners, the ILO and ICWA, has been honoured to support this agenda as a trusted partner, helping turn commitments into practical cooperation.
Today, the EU–India partnership is stronger and broader than ever—spanning trade, technology, green transition, skills, and people-to-people exchange. Mobility has rightly been described as the “connecting tissue” of this partnership - a strong enabler that links talent, innovation, and opportunity across both regions.
Under the new proposed India-EU strategic Agenda, both sides are planning to advance their partnership on skills and mobility through several new initiatives such as the Education and Skills Dialogue, and expanded cooperation in higher education and research through programmes like Erasmus+ and the Jean Monnet Network for India.
Together with India’s forward-looking policies such as the National Education Policy 2020 and the Study in India initiative, these efforts reflect a shared aspiration: to make education and mobility a true driver of sustainable development and mutual growth.
Within this broader partnership, the EU–India CDMM project translates strategy into action.
Last year’s Student Mobility Workshop in New Delhi highlighted the need to engage directly with educational consultants and to strengthen the ethical dimensions of international student recruitment. Both the Government of India and the European Union recognised that ensuring transparency and trust in this sector is critical to building a safe, well-informed student-mobility corridor.
Today’s workshop is a direct continuation of that dialogue—a response to the collective call for capacity-building and closer collaboration with the consultants guiding students every day.
This workshop aims to build capacity among educational consultants—the first point of contact for aspiring students—to promote transparent, ethical, and student-centred practices in international education.
It also seeks to foster exchange among educational consultants, EU higher-education institutions, study-abroad agencies, and government bodies—strengthening the overall mobility ecosystem.

We will discuss mechanisms that support student integration and well-being in Europe and raise awareness in India about trusted educational consultants and credible mobility pathways.
Through today’s sessions, we will also explore international good practices, including models of self-regulation and codes of conduct, to guide ethical and informed student recruitment.
Trusted Educational consultants can be enablers in this ecosystem. In many instances as we are aware, students and their families rely on your services to find the right university, complex admission procedures, documentation, and visa processes.
This has a direct impact on students’ futures- and, by extension, on the strength and reputation of the India–EU education corridor. By promoting professionalism, credibility and ethical practices, you help ensure that international education remains a space of integrity, opportunity, and mutual trust. In this context this workshop aims to be a forum where there is space to discuss these issues in greater detail and offer some forward looking ideas.
In closing, I would like to sincerely thank the European Union and the Government of India for entrusting ICMPD and our partners to support the implementation of their joint priorities on migration and mobility under this technical-cooperation project, advancing the objectives of the CAMM.
To all participants have amongst us here today- your insights and experiences will be invaluable in shaping the next steps.

Let us use this opportunity to exchange ideas, share practical tools, and strengthen ethical and informed student-mobility framework between India and the EU. Together, we can ensure that every student journey becomes a story of integrity, opportunity, and global connection.
Thank you, and I wish you all a productive and inspiring afternoon.