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The Spanish government is pursuing a markedly separate path from many European countries when it comes to migration policies and cooperation with the African continent.

While states such as the US, UK, French Republic and Federal Republic of Germany are slashing their development aid budgets, Spain continues dedicated to expanding its participation, albeit from a reduced baseline.

Current Programs

Currently, the Spanish capital has been accommodating an AU-supported "international gathering on individuals with African heritage". AfroMadrid2025 will explore restorative justice and the formation of a fresh assistance program.

This constitutes the newest evidence of how the Spanish administration is working to enhance and diversify its engagement with the mainland that sits merely a short distance to the southern direction, beyond the Gibraltar passage.

Policy Structure

In July International Relations Head the Spanish diplomat launched a recent guidance panel of distinguished academic, diplomatic and arts representatives, more than half of them from Africa, to supervise the delivery of the comprehensive Madrid-Africa plan that his leadership published at the end of last year.

Additional diplomatic missions south of the Sahara, and collaborations in commerce and learning are planned.

Migration Management

The difference between Madrid's strategy and that of other Western nations is not just in expenditure but in perspective and mindset – and nowhere more so than in addressing population movement.

Like elsewhere in Europe, Administration Head Madrid's chief executive is seeking methods to control the arrival of undocumented migrants.

"For us, the movement dynamic is not only a matter of ethical standards, unity and honor, but also one of logic," the government leader said.

More than 45,000 individuals attempted the hazardous maritime passage from Africa's west coast to the island territory of the Canary Islands recently. Approximations of those who lost their lives while undertaking the journey vary from 1,400 to a astonishing 10,460.

Practical Solutions

The Spanish administration has to accommodate new arrivals, process their claims and handle their incorporation into wider society, whether temporary or more long-lasting.

However, in terminology noticeably distinct from the hostile messaging that comes from several Western administrations, the Madrid leadership publicly recognizes the hard economic realities on the region in the West African region that compel individuals to endanger themselves in the attempt to attain Europe.

Furthermore, it attempts to exceed simply denying access to new arrivals. Rather, it is developing creative alternatives, with a promise to foster human mobility that are safe, organized and routine and "jointly profitable".

Economic Partnerships

During his visit to the West African nation last year, Madrid's representative stressed the participation that foreign workers make to the Spanish economy.

Madrid's administration supports skill development initiatives for youth without work in countries such as Senegal, especially for undocumented individuals who have been repatriated, to assist them in creating sustainable income sources in their homeland.

And it has expanded a "cyclical relocation" initiative that offers persons from the region short-term visas to come to Spain for defined timeframes of temporary employment, primarily in farming, and then go back.

Geopolitical Relevance

The fundamental premise guiding Spain's engagement is that the European country, as the EU member state nearest to the region, has an crucial domestic priority in Africa's progress toward comprehensive and lasting growth, and tranquility and protection.

That basic rationale might seem apparent.

Yet of course the past had directed Spain down a quite different path.

Other than a several North African presences and a minor equatorial territory – presently autonomous the Gulf of Guinea country – its colonial expansion in the 16th and 17th Centuries had mainly been directed across the Atlantic.

Future Outlook

The arts component includes not only promotion of the Spanish language, with an expanded presence of the Spanish cultural organization, but also schemes to support the movement of scholarly educators and scholars.

Security co-operation, action on climate change, gender equality and an expanded diplomatic presence are predictable aspects in the current climate.

Nonetheless, the plan also places significant emphasis it places on assisting democratic values, the African Union and, in particular, the regional West African group the Economic Community of West African States.

This will be positive official support for the entity, which is presently facing significant challenges after observing its five-decade milestone spoiled by the withdrawal of the desert region countries – the West African nation, the Malian Republic and Niger – whose governing armed forces have refused to comply with its agreement regarding democratic governance and good governance.

Meanwhile, in a communication directed equally toward Spain's internal population as its continental allies, the foreign ministry said "supporting the African diaspora and the fight against racism and immigrant hostility are also crucial objectives".

Impressive rhetoric of course are only a beginning stage. But in contemporary pessimistic worldwide environment such discourse really does stand out.