Redaccion
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the rest of the autonomous communities agree to coordinate and strengthen the Spanish strategy in the countries of origin and transit of migration
Vice-Counselor Alfonso Cabello offers the Tierra Firme project as an example to follow to generate life opportunities for young people in Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia
The Sectorial Conference on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity will focus part of its work on coordinating and strengthening Spanish action in West Africa and the Sahel. This was agreed on Wednesday, at the proposal of the Government of the Canary Islands, in the constitutive session of this new body chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and in which all autonomous communities participate.
Following the meeting, Vice-Counselor Alfonso Cabello emphasized the importance of Spain activating a «strong and coordinated» cooperation strategy to promote quality employment, reduce social inequalities, and improve life opportunities in West Africa. «For the Canary Islands, it is vital that our country has a greater presence in Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco, Gambia, and throughout the Sahel,» he said, recalling the importance of working at the source to stop the deadly Atlantic migration route.
In this regard, Cabello thanked Minister Albares and the representatives of the rest of the autonomous communities for accepting the Canary Islands’ request to include Africa among the priorities of Spanish cooperation policy. «Together, we have the capacity to multiply results and deter the dangerous Atlantic route by offering specific employment opportunities in the countries of origin and transit of migration,» he explained.
The Vice-Counselor of the Presidency also argued at the Sectorial Conference that the implementation of Spanish cooperation in the neighboring continent should be carried out in coordination with African countries. In his view, this dialogue «with the other shore» is essential to «achieve good results,» because «we cannot progress without listening and working hand in hand with those who work on the ground.»
The representative of the Government of the Canary Islands highlighted the ‘Tierra Firme’ project as an example of this strategy. He pointed out that this pioneering project, launched by the regional government in collaboration with chambers of commerce, has proven to be an effective response to trying to curb migration processes through cooperation policies in countries such as Senegal and Mauritania.
«Tierra Firme demonstrates that true cooperation policy involves creating employment and training opportunities in the countries of origin, with special attention to African youth,» he said, underscoring the success of an initiative that has already trained over 500 young people with internships and employment opportunities in Spanish companies operating in these countries.
Cabello also highlighted Minister Albares’ commitment during the Sectorial Conference to advocate in Brussels for the reinstatement of the European mission in the Sahel. This is a key area for addressing the migration challenge, as it concentrates the warlike and geopolitical tensions in Africa that drive thousands of people, many of them minors, to risk their lives by embarking on a boat to the Canary Islands.
0.7% Objective
On the other hand, Cabello emphasized the importance of the first plenary session of the Sectorial Conference on Cooperation in assuming the Canary Islands’ proposal to improve statistical information on the cooperation projects that the State and the autonomous communities are carrying out.
For the Government of the Canary Islands, this coordination will help Spain to more accurately assess its real level of contribution to cooperation with other countries, which is far from the 0.7% of the GDP as per the latest reports. «We must clearly document what we are all doing to improve results,» reiterated the Vice-Counselor. This issue has been included among the priorities of the working group that will focus on the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of Spanish cooperation abroad.
«It is possible that the gap in reaching the 0.7% is not due to the absence of specific actions, both in the Canary Islands and in Spain, but rather to the lack of common criteria to consolidate these actions in manageable, systematized statistical information available in a common data file for all levels of public administration,» the proposal defended by the representative of the Government of the Canary Islands, which has been endorsed by the Ministry and the rest of the autonomous communities.
The two working groups created today in the first meeting of the Sectorial Conference on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity will be composed of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the autonomous communities, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The Sectorial Conference, which started this Wednesday, was established by law in February 2023, more than two years ago. Its purpose is to «contribute to a more effective, coherent, coordinated, and complementary action by the different public administrations that implement programs, projects, and actions in the field of cooperation for sustainable development and global solidarity, in accordance with the principles of institutional loyalty, cooperation, and mutual respect,» as indicated in the legislative text.
However, this body of «participation, dialogue, coordination, agreement, and collaboration in cooperation matters» between the State and the autonomous communities had not been launched until now due to a lack of regulations, a text that has been approved at the meeting held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid.
