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The Spanish government is pursuing a distinctly different direction from several developed states when it comes to immigration strategies and engagement with the African mainland.

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

New Initiatives

Recently, the capital city has been accommodating an African Union-backed "global summit on individuals with African heritage". The African diaspora summit will examine reparative equity and the creation of a innovative support mechanism.

This demonstrates the latest indication of how Spain's socialist-led government is working to enhance and expand its cooperation with the mainland that rests only a few kilometres to the southern direction, beyond the Gibraltar passage.

Governmental Approach

During summer International Relations Head Madrid's top envoy established a recent guidance panel of renowned scholarly, foreign service and arts representatives, more than half of them of African origin, to supervise the execution of the thorough Spain-Africa strategy that his leadership published at the end of last year.

Additional diplomatic missions in sub-Saharan regions, and cooperative ventures in business and learning are arranged.

Movement Regulation

The distinction between Spain's approach and that of others in the West is not just in spending but in tone and outlook – and especially noticeable than in handling immigration.

Similar to other European locations, Government Leader Madrid's chief executive is looking for ways to contain the influx of unauthorized entrants.

"In our view, the migratory phenomenon is not only a question of moral principles, mutual support and respect, but also one of logic," the prime minister said.

Exceeding 45,000 people undertook the dangerous ocean journey from West African coastline to the island territory of the Atlantic islands last year. Calculations of those who died while undertaking the journey range between 1,400 to a overwhelming 10,460.

Effective Measures

The Spanish administration has to accommodate fresh migrants, process their claims and oversee their integration into larger population, whether short-term or more enduring.

Nevertheless, in language markedly different from the adversarial communication that comes from many European capitals, the Spanish administration publicly recognizes the hard economic realities on the territory in West Africa that push people to jeopardize their safety in the effort to reach the European continent.

And it is trying to transcend simply saying "no" to new arrivals. Instead, it is creating innovative options, with a pledge to promote human mobility that are protected, systematic and regular and "reciprocally advantageous".

Economic Partnerships

On his trip to Mauritania last year, the Spanish leader stressed the participation that immigrants provide for the Spanish economy.

Madrid's administration finances training schemes for youth without work in states like the Senegalese Republic, notably for irregular migrants who have been repatriated, to help them develop sustainable income sources in their native country.

And it has expanded a "circular migration" scheme that offers persons from the region limited-duration authorizations to arrive in the Iberian nation for restricted durations of periodic labor, mostly in cultivation, and then come home.

Strategic Importance

The fundamental premise supporting Madrid's outreach is that the Iberian nation, as the continental nation most proximate to the continent, has an essential self interest in Africa's progress toward comprehensive and lasting growth, and tranquility and protection.

The core justification might seem apparent.

Yet of course previous eras had guided the Spanish nation down a noticeably unique course.

Other than a limited Mediterranean outposts and a compact tropical possession – currently sovereign the Central African nation – its colonial expansion in the 1500s and 1600s had primarily been focused overseas.

Forward Vision

The heritage aspect includes not only dissemination of the national tongue, with an enhanced representation of the Cervantes Institute, but also schemes to assist the movement of academic teachers and scholars.

Defense collaboration, measures regarding environmental shifts, female advancement and an increased international engagement are expected elements in the current climate.

However, the plan also puts notable focus it assigns to supporting democratic ideas, the pan-African body and, in especial, the sub-Saharan cooperative body the West African economic bloc.

This constitutes favorable governmental endorsement for the latter, which is now experiencing substantial difficulties after observing its five-decade milestone tainted 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 protocol on democracy and good governance.

Concurrently, in a communication directed equally toward Madrid's domestic audience as its sub-Saharan partners, the external affairs department declared "helping persons of African origin and the fight against racism and immigrant hostility are also crucial objectives".

Fine words of course are only a beginning stage. But in contemporary pessimistic worldwide environment such discourse really does distinguish itself.