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Spain is charting a noticeably unique direction from many developed states when it comes to migration policies and engagement with the continent of Africa.

While states such as the United States, Britain, France and Federal Republic of Germany are cutting back their international support allocations, Madrid remains committed to enhancing its participation, though from a lower starting point.

New Initiatives

This week, the Spanish capital has been hosting an AU-supported "world conference on persons of African origin". AfroMadrid2025 will explore corrective fairness and the establishment of a fresh assistance program.

This represents the most recent sign of how Spain's socialist-led government is seeking to deepen and expand its cooperation with the region that rests only a few kilometres to the south, across the Straits of Gibraltar.

Policy Structure

In July Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares initiated a new advisory council of renowned scholarly, international relations and cultural figures, more than half of them from Africa, to oversee the delivery of the detailed Spanish-African initiative that his leadership unveiled at the conclusion of the previous year.

New embassies in sub-Saharan regions, and partnerships in commerce and academic are planned.

Migration Management

The contrast between the Spanish method and that of different European countries is not just in spending but in perspective and philosophy – and nowhere more so than in addressing migration.

Like other European locations, Administration Head Pedro Sanchez is looking for ways to contain the arrival of unauthorized entrants.

"For us, the immigration situation is not only a question of moral principles, mutual support and respect, but also one of logic," the prime minister said.

Exceeding 45,000 individuals made the perilous sea crossing from the Atlantic African shore to the Spanish archipelago of the Atlantic islands the previous year. Approximations of those who perished while making the attempt vary from 1,400 to a astonishing 10,460.

Workable Approaches

Spain's leadership has to accommodate fresh migrants, process their claims and manage their absorption into broader community, whether temporary or more enduring.

Nonetheless, in language markedly different from the adversarial communication that originates from many European capitals, the Madrid leadership publicly recognizes the hard economic realities on the territory in the West African region that force persons to risk their lives in the endeavor to achieve the European continent.

Furthermore, it attempts to move beyond simply saying "no" to incoming migrants. Instead, it is designing original solutions, with a commitment to encourage movements of people that are secure, organized and routine and "jointly profitable".

Commercial Cooperation

While traveling to Mauritania recently, Madrid's representative stressed the input that immigrants provide for the Spanish economy.

Spain's leadership supports educational programs for jobless young people in countries such as the West African country, notably for irregular migrants who have been repatriated, to assist them in creating workable employment options in their homeland.

Furthermore, it increased a "cyclical relocation" programme that gives persons from the region temporary permits to arrive in the Iberian nation for limited periods of seasonal work, mainly in agriculture, and then return.

Geopolitical Relevance

The core principle underlying the Spanish approach is that the European country, as the continental nation nearest to the region, has an essential self interest in the region's development toward comprehensive and lasting growth, and peace and security.

That basic rationale might seem evident.

Nevertheless the past had directed the Spanish nation down a distinctly separate route.

Besides a several North African presences and a small tropical outpost – presently autonomous Equatorial Guinea – its colonial expansion in the 16th and 17th Centuries had primarily been focused toward the Americas.

Forward Vision

The cultural dimension incorporates not only advancement of Castilian, with an expanded presence of the Cervantes Institute, but also initiatives to assist the transfer of educational instructors and investigators.

Defense collaboration, initiatives concerning global warming, female advancement and an increased international engagement are unsurprising components in the current climate.

However, the strategy also puts notable focus it places on backing democratic principles, the pan-African body and, in particular, the regional West African group the Economic Community of West African States.

This represents welcome public encouragement for the entity, which is currently under severe pressure after witnessing its half-century celebration marred by the withdrawal of the Sahel nations – the West African nation, the Malian Republic and the Sahel territory – whose controlling military regimes have refused to comply with its agreement regarding democratic governance and proper administration.

Meanwhile, in a communication aimed similarly at Spain's internal population as its continental allies, the international relations office said "supporting the African diaspora and the battle against prejudice and xenophobia are also key priorities".

Fine words of course are only a beginning stage. But in contemporary pessimistic worldwide environment such language really does distinguish itself.