🔗 Share this article Madrid's Unique Approach to Movement from the African Continent The Spanish government is pursuing a noticeably unique course from numerous European countries when it comes to migration policies and relations toward the African mainland. Although states such as the USA, United Kingdom, French Republic and Germany are slashing their development aid budgets, Spain remains committed to expanding its involvement, even from a lower starting point. New Initiatives Currently, the Madrid has been hosting an AU-supported "global summit on people of African descent". AfroMadrid2025 will discuss corrective fairness and the creation of a innovative support mechanism. This represents the newest evidence of how the Spanish administration is seeking to deepen and diversify its engagement with the mainland that sits merely a few kilometres to the southern direction, across the Straits of Gibraltar. Strategic Framework During summer International Relations Head José Manuel Albares launched a recent guidance panel of prominent intellectual, diplomatic and heritage experts, the majority of them of African origin, to supervise the delivery of the detailed Spain-Africa strategy that his administration released at the end of last year. Additional diplomatic missions below the Sahara desert, and cooperative ventures in enterprise and academic are planned. Migration Management The difference between Madrid's strategy and that of other Western nations is not just in expenditure but in attitude and outlook – and especially noticeable than in dealing with population movement. Like elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Madrid's chief executive is seeking methods to manage the arrival of irregular arrivals. "In our view, the migratory phenomenon is not only a matter of ethical standards, solidarity and dignity, but also one of reason," the administration head said. Over 45,000 persons attempted the hazardous maritime passage from the Atlantic African shore to the Spanish archipelago of the Atlantic islands recently. Calculations of those who lost their lives while undertaking the journey extend from 1,400 to a staggering 10,460. Practical Solutions Madrid's government has to accommodate fresh migrants, process their claims and manage their absorption into wider society, whether transient or more enduring. Nonetheless, in terminology noticeably distinct from the adversarial communication that emanates from numerous EU governments, the Madrid leadership frankly admits the difficult financial circumstances on the region in the West African region that compel individuals to endanger themselves in the attempt to attain the European continent. And it is trying to transcend simply saying "no" to new arrivals. Instead, it is designing original solutions, with a promise to promote population flows that are secure, systematic and routine and "reciprocally advantageous". Commercial Cooperation While traveling to the West African nation last year, the Spanish leader stressed the participation that foreign workers make to the Iberian economic system. Madrid's administration funds skill development initiatives for youth without work in nations including the West African country, especially for irregular migrants who have been sent back, to support them in establishing sustainable income sources in their homeland. And it has expanded a "rotational movement" initiative that offers persons from the region short-term visas to enter Spanish territory for limited periods of temporary employment, mostly in cultivation, and then return. Policy Significance The fundamental premise supporting Madrid's outreach is that the European country, as the continental nation most proximate to the region, has an essential self interest in Africa's progress toward comprehensive and lasting growth, and peace and security. This fundamental reasoning might seem apparent. Nevertheless history had taken the Spanish nation down a quite different path. Apart from a several North African presences and a small tropical outpost – today's independent the Central African nation – its imperial growth in the 16th and 17th Centuries had primarily been focused across the Atlantic. Prospective Direction The cultural dimension includes not only advancement of Castilian, with an expanded presence of the language promotion body, but also schemes to support the movement of scholarly educators and researchers. Security co-operation, measures regarding environmental shifts, women's empowerment and an expanded diplomatic presence are predictable aspects in the current climate. Nonetheless, the plan also lays very public stress it places on supporting democratic ideas, the African Union and, in especial, the regional West African group the West African economic bloc. This constitutes positive official support for the latter, which is presently facing significant challenges after witnessing its half-century celebration spoiled by the withdrawal of the Sahelian states – the West African nation, Mali and the Sahel territory – whose governing armed forces have chosen not to follow with its standard for political freedom and proper administration. Concurrently, in a communication targeted as much at Madrid's domestic audience as its African collaborators, the external affairs department declared "helping persons of African origin and the struggle versus discrimination and immigrant hostility are also essential focuses". Fine words of course are only a beginning stage. But in today's sour international climate such terminology really does stand out.