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The Spanish government is pursuing a noticeably unique path from numerous Western nations when it comes to immigration strategies and cooperation with the African continent.

Although countries like the US, Britain, French Republic and Germany are slashing their development aid budgets, the Spanish government continues dedicated to increasing its participation, even from a lower starting point.

New Initiatives

Currently, the Spanish capital has been accommodating an AU-supported "international gathering on people of African descent". The Madrid African conference will explore reparative equity and the creation of a innovative support mechanism.

This demonstrates the latest indication of how the Spanish administration is working to enhance and diversify its engagement with the mainland that lies just a short distance to the southern direction, beyond the Gibraltar passage.

Policy Structure

During summer Foreign Minister Madrid's top envoy established a fresh consultative body of renowned scholarly, international relations and arts representatives, the majority of them of African origin, to oversee the execution of the comprehensive Spanish-African initiative that his government published at the end of last year.

New embassies below the Sahara desert, and cooperative ventures in enterprise and academic are scheduled.

Movement Regulation

The contrast between Spain's approach and that of others in the West is not just in expenditure but in tone and philosophy – and nowhere more so than in addressing immigration.

Similar to different EU nations, Government Leader Madrid's chief executive is seeking methods to control the entry of undocumented migrants.

"For us, the movement dynamic is not only a question of moral principles, solidarity and honor, but also one of logic," the government leader stated.

More than 45,000 persons attempted the hazardous maritime passage from Africa's west coast to the Spanish archipelago of the Atlantic islands last year. Approximations of those who died while undertaking the journey vary from 1,400 to a staggering 10,460.

Workable Approaches

Spain's leadership needs to shelter recent entrants, review their cases and handle their incorporation into broader community, whether transient or more permanent.

However, in language distinctly separate from the adversarial communication that originates from several Western administrations, the Sanchez government openly acknowledges the challenging monetary conditions on the territory in the West African region that compel individuals to risk their lives in the effort to reach EU territory.

Additionally, it strives to exceed simply denying access to recent entrants. Rather, it is creating innovative options, with a pledge to foster population flows that are protected, orderly and routine and "mutually beneficial".

Financial Collaboration

While traveling to the West African nation last year, Sanchez highlighted the input that foreign workers provide for the national finances.

Madrid's administration funds skill development initiatives for unemployed youth in nations including the Senegalese Republic, especially for unauthorized persons who have been returned, to support them in establishing viable new livelihoods in their native country.

And it has expanded a "cyclical relocation" programme that offers West Africans temporary permits to arrive in the Iberian nation for limited periods of seasonal work, primarily in farming, and then go back.

Strategic Importance

The core principle underlying Spain's engagement is that Spain, as the European country most proximate to the mainland, has an vital national concern in the region's development toward equitable and enduring progress, and stability and safety.

The core justification might seem obvious.

Nevertheless history had taken the Spanish nation down a quite different path.

Other than a limited Mediterranean outposts and a compact tropical possession – presently autonomous the Central African nation – its imperial growth in the 16th and 17th Centuries had mainly been directed toward the Americas.

Future Outlook

The cultural dimension 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 educational instructors and investigators.

Defense collaboration, measures regarding environmental shifts, female advancement and an enhanced consular representation are unsurprising components in the current climate.

Nevertheless, the approach also places significant emphasis it places on assisting democratic values, the African Union and, in specific, the West African regional organization the Economic Community of West African States.

This represents favorable governmental endorsement for the organization, which is currently under severe pressure after seeing its 50th anniversary year spoiled by the withdrawal of the Sahelian states – the Sahel country, Mali and Niger – whose governing armed forces have declined to adhere with its agreement regarding democratic governance and proper administration.

Concurrently, in a statement directed equally toward the national citizenry as its African collaborators, the international relations office stated "helping persons of African origin and the struggle versus discrimination and immigrant hostility are also essential focuses".

Impressive rhetoric of course are only a initial phase. But in contemporary pessimistic worldwide environment such discourse really does appear distinctive.