Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and his Gambian counterpart, Mamadou Tangara, agreed yesterday in Banjul to open annual political consultations to strengthen cooperation, promote circular migration programs between both countries and "explore legal avenues for migration." Albares traveled yesterday to Gambia as part of a tour of Africa that includes Senegal and that is focused, above all, on strengthening political dialogue, cooperation for development and migration issues. The tour comes a week after the minister's trip to Cape Verde. The visit to Gambia began with a meeting of the minister with the president of the country, Adama Barrow, to whom he conveyed “Spain's desire to continue deepening the excellent bilateral relations and cooperation with The Gambia, including immigration relations, for the benefit of our people.” , according to Albares wrote on the social network X. Next, José Manuel Albares was received by his Gambian counterpart, with whom he agreed to open annual political consultations, the first of which could be held in 2025 in Spain with the presence of Mamadou Tangara. Likewise, both ministers addressed the promotion of circular migration programs such as those that Spain already has with other countries and Albares promised to delve deeper into this proposal in the announced annual political consultations. During the meeting, according to the head of Spanish diplomacy, the search for “legal routes for migration”, the fight “against mafias that traffic in human beings” and the need to “deter irregular immigration” were also discussed. . The possibility of recovering the Las Palmas-Banjul air route through the Binter airline was also discussed. After this meeting, Albares visited the members of the Spanish security forces that contribute to the stability of the region, specifically the members of the Civil Guard who, from the Port of Banjul, collaborate with the Gambian security forces to stop irregular emigration and the National Police agents assigned to the Joint Investigation Team against Trafficking in Human Beings and Human Trafficking, financed by the EU. At the level of cooperation, the minister visited the Gambia School of Hospitality and Tourism, which was financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) between 2007 and 2013 and is currently managed by the country's authorities. Albares was accompanied by the Gambian Minister of Tourism, Abdou Jove. Spain maintains good bilateral relations with Gambia, which were especially revitalized as a result of the 2006 migration crisis. Since then, the relationship has revolved around two fundamental axes: cooperation on migration and development cooperation. That crisis also gave rise to the first visit to Banjul by a Spanish Foreign Minister (specifically, Miguel Ángel Moratinos) in June 2006, which was followed by another in October of the same year. The last visit by a Spanish Foreign Minister to Banjul took place in March 2019, when Josep Borrell traveled to this country as part of a tour of Africa to present the then recently approved Third Africa Plan. Borrell was also received by Mamadou Tangara, who traveled to Madrid in May 2023 to meet with Albares and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to agree on holding political consultations and strengthening cooperation on security matters. Senegal Albares also arrived yesterday in Senegal, where he will be received today by the authorities of the new Government elected in March, to whom he will convey Spain's commitment to continue deepening the bilateral agenda. This is the minister's third visit to this country, a key and strategic partner for the stability of the entire region, with an important role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in which Spain carries out relevant cooperation projects and where the first Cervantes Institute in Sub-Saharan Africa is located. In Dakar, Albares will address economic cooperation between Spain and Senegal (including the blue economy, food security and investments), address circular migration projects and visit the Marfil detachment and the members of the Civil Guard and National Police that collaborate with the Senegalese authorities in the fight against human trafficking networks.
