UPSC Prelims 2026 Q69: Colombo Process, Abu Dhabi Dialogue, GFMD
Consider the following statements about platforms for multilateral co-operation:
1. The 'Colombo Process' is a regional consultative process in which member states take binding decisions by consensus.
2. The 'Abu Dhabi Dialogue' is a voluntary non-binding consultative process among Asian countries of labour origin and destination to facilitate regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility.
3. The 'Global Forum for Migration and Development', created upon the proposal of a former UN Secretary General, is a voluntary forum whose decisions are non-binding in nature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1, 2 and 3
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 2 only
Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — The Colombo Process does take decisions by consensus, but those decisions are not binding. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Process's own statements to the UN describe it as member-driven, non-binding, flexible and informal. It was set up in 2003 as a regional consultative process of Asian countries that send migrant workers abroad, to manage overseas employment and contractual labour. The word 'binding' makes the statement wrong.
- 2: correct — The Abu Dhabi Dialogue was set up in 2008. The MEA describes it as 'a regional, voluntary and non-binding consultative Process'. It brings together Colombo Process member states, which are the Asian countries workers come from, and six Gulf countries where those workers go. The UAE provides its permanent secretariat. Its aim is cooperation on temporary contractual labour mobility between these origin and destination countries.
- 3: correct — The GFMD came out of a proposal by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the UN General Assembly's High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in 2006. Its first meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium, in 2007. The GFMD calls itself 'a voluntary, inter-governmental, non-binding and informal consultative process' that sits outside the formal UN system. Its decisions are therefore non-binding.
How to eliminate
All three forums are informal consultative processes on labour migration. None of them is a treaty body, and all are non-binding. Statement 1 stands out because it pairs 'consultative process' with 'binding decisions', and the two do not fit together. A forum that only consults cannot bind its members. If you doubt Statement 1 on this basis, two options remain: '2 and 3 only' and '2 only'. Statement 3 then needs only one fact: the GFMD began with Kofi Annan's 2006 proposal and is described as voluntary and non-binding. The fact to remember is that the Colombo Process, the Abu Dhabi Dialogue and the GFMD all work by consensus and are all non-binding.
Know more
Migration governance runs mostly through soft law. Countries guard their right to decide who enters their territory. So most cooperation on labour migration happens in informal dialogues that produce no binding obligations. These dialogues are called Regional Consultative Processes (RCPs) and global forums.
| Platform | Set up | Members | Nature | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombo Process | 2003 | 12 Asian countries that send workers (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Afghanistan) | Consultative; consensus; non-binding | India has chaired it since May 2024 (2024–26 term) |
| Abu Dhabi Dialogue | 2008 | Colombo Process states plus 6 Gulf destination countries | Voluntary, non-binding | Permanent secretariat: UAE; India sits on its Advisory Committee |
| GFMD | 2006 proposal; first meeting 2007 (Brussels) | Open to all UN member states and observers | Voluntary, informal, non-binding; outside the UN system | Support Unit in Geneva, hosted by IOM; chair rotates between developed and developing countries |
| Global Compact for Migration (GCM) | 2018 | UN member states | Negotiated between governments but non-binding | 23 objectives |
Key ideas:
- Consensus describes how a forum decides: no formal vote, and nobody objects. Binding describes legal force. A body can decide by consensus and still produce nothing binding. Statement 1 mixes up these two ideas.
- Origin versus destination: the Colombo Process has only countries that send workers. The Abu Dhabi Dialogue links them with the Gulf countries that receive them.
- The GCM is the first framework on migration negotiated between governments. Even so, it is explicitly non-binding.
India has the world's largest overseas migrant population, and the Gulf is the main destination for its contract workers. That makes these forums central to India's diplomacy on worker welfare and remittances.
In the news
India took over the chair of the Colombo Process in May 2024 for 2024–26. The Abu Dhabi Dialogue held a ministerial consultation in Abu Dhabi from 31 January to 1 February 2026. Both kept these labour-mobility forums in the news before Prelims 2026.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Gulf migration: The Abu Dhabi Dialogue links Asian countries that send workers with the Gulf countries that receive them, the corridor Indian Gulf migration runs through.
- Migration: All three forums deal with movement between countries of origin and destination, the basic terms used in Statement 2.