Spain's radically different approach to African migration
39 minutes ago Share Save Paul Melly West Africa analyst Share Save
AFP via Getty Images
Spain is kicking against the prevailing political mood among Western nations when it comes to migration and policies regarding the African continent. At a time when the US, the UK, France and Germany are all cutting back their development aid budgets, Madrid remains committed to continued expansion, albeit from a lower starting point. This week, the Spanish capital has been hosting an African Union-backed "world conference on people of African descent". AfroMadrid2025 will discuss restorative justice and the creation of a new development fund. It is just the latest sign of how Spain's socialist-led government is seeking to deepen and diversify its engagement with the continent and near neighbour that lies just a few kilometres to the south, across the Straits of Gibraltar. In July Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares launched a new advisory council of prominent intellectual, diplomatic and cultural figures, more than half of them African, to monitor the delivery of the detailed Spain-Africa strategy that his government published at the end of last year.
Continue Reading on BBC News
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.