Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled Thursday a new three-year strategic plan to boost Madrid’s economic and diplomatic ties with Africa and develop “legal channels” for migration.
The move comes as Spain is struggling to curb a surge in irregular migrant arrivals by boat in Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic, mainly from Western Africa.
“Our country wants to enter a new era in its relationship with the African continent, on an equal footing,” Sanchez said after meeting Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in Madrid.
“Africa is already a key partner for Spain, and its importance will continue to grow in the years to come,” he added, saying the volume of Spain’s trade with Africa now exceeds that of the country with Latin America.
The government said in a statement that the plan includes 100 measures, including strengthening the country’s network of embassies and consulates on the continent and boosting cooperation between Spanish and African universities and research institutes.
The plan also calls for greater funding for Spanish language training in Africa, as well as for scholarships and educational exchange programmes to allow students from Africa to study in Spain, the statement added.
The strategy calls for the development of “a migration model that “benefits countries of origin, migrants and destination countries alike,” Sanchez said.
The goal is to “create safe and legal channels that strengthen training systems, particularly vocational training in African countries, to prevent people from ending up in the hands of mafias that traffic in human beings,” the Socialist premier added.
Sanchez in August went on a tour of West African countries in a bid to boost local efforts to curb illegal migration from Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia, the main departure points for migrant boats headed to the Canary Islands, which at their closest point are 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Morocco.
El Ghazouani welcomed Spain’s strategy for Africa, saying it “offers numerous opportunities for integration and trade”.
This “will make a significant contribution to improving the living conditions of millions of people,” he added.
More than 41,000 migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands by boat so far this year, more than the record of 39,910 migrants who arrived in the archipelago of 2.2 million people during all of 2023.
