Resist protectionism, says UN Secretary-General

With countries like the US restricting hiring of foreign workers on H-1B work visas, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday opposed imposition of restrictions on international migration.

As countries around the world are taking steps to meet the challenges of the current global economic crisis, Ban said that there are signs of protectionist measures being introduced by countries.

"I am afraid we are also seeing new forms of protectionism. We must resist this, not only in trade, but also in investment and international migration," Ban told a meeting of the Special High-level Meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organisation and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

However, the Secretary General in his speech at the UN headquarters in New York did not specify about the protectionist measures being imposed by countries across the globe.

Experts believe that the restrictions imposed by the US on hiring of foreign workers by companies receiving federal grant money are one of such protectionist measures. Ban said there also remains an urgent need to complete the development-oriented Doha Round of trade negotiations.