Spain and Mauritania pledge to fight illegal immigration
Spain and Mauritania agreed on Wednesday to collaborate in combating illegal immigration, during a tour by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of three African countries to contain irregular arrivals on their shores.
In a joint statement, the two governments pledged to ‘work together to promote safe, orderly and regular migration’ and to guarantee ‘fair and humane treatment for migrants’.
The socialist leader, who was received on Tuesday in Nouakchott by President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, called for a firm stance against human smuggling networks and humane treatment of migrants.
‘Immigration is not a problem, but a necessity that comes with certain problems,’ he said. ‘We have to fight against the mafias that traffic in human beings and play with human lives’ and that take advantage of “the terrible conditions and desperation of those who resort to irregular migration”, he added.
Sánchez, under domestic pressure from the migration crisis, with a sharp increase in the number of migrants entering his country, visits Gambia on Wednesday and Senegal on Thursday.
The three countries, on the continent's Atlantic coast, are the departure point for thousands of Africans trying to reach Europe in search of a better future by crossing the sea, mainly through the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries. Thousands of people have died on this crossing in recent years.
Circular migration
In the joint declaration, the two governments ‘insist on the need to fight racism and xenophobia’.
They also signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ on ‘circular migration’: Spain will inform Mauritania of its labour needs and Mauritania will select candidates in a ‘pilot project’ that will initially last one year and will pay special attention to young people and women.
Applicants will be interviewed and, if necessary, screened. They will be asked to obtain a visa and sign a contract, and commit to return home at the end of the contract.
Spain has already applied this formula ‘successfully’ with other countries, said Sánchez, who announced that Spain will allocate half a million euros to a training initiative in Mauritania.
According to a source from the Spanish presidency, Mauritania is currently hosting some 200,000 refugees who are victims of instability in the Sahel region, including many Malians, who could migrate to the Canary Islands.
The total amount included in the agreements to be signed with these countries - mainly Mauritania, where Sánchez already travelled in February - to help them and encourage them to intensify efforts to prevent this illegal migrationis unknown.
Between 1 January and 15 August this year, 22,304 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands compared to 9,864 in the same period in 2023, an increase of 126%.
