The Diplomat The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, claimed yesterday from Gambia the "common objective" with this country of fighting the mafias that traffic migrants and the shared will to strengthen the close collaboration that exists between the security forces and bodies of the two countries in this matter. Sánchez arrived in Banjul, the second stage of his three-day tour of West Africa, after having stated the previous day in Mauritania that immigration is not a problem but "a necessity." His words provoked the leader of the PP; Alberto Núñez Feijóo, replied to them on his account on the social network X, pointing out that it is “irresponsible to encourage a call effect in the worst crisis of irregular migration”, and reproaching the head of the Executive for going to Africa to promote “Spain as a destination” instead of going to “fight the mafias”. Although in Banjul, Sánchez reiterated his commitment to a "safe, orderly and regular migration", the most direct response to Feijóo came on the same social network, where several members of the Government criticised the "baseness" of his statements and demanded that he take on the migration challenge with "humanity". Meanwhile, the head of the Executive completed his agenda in Gambia, where he met with the president of the country, Adama Barrow, with whom he signed a memorandum of understanding on circular migration aimed at facilitating the hiring of Gambians at their country of origin so that they come to fill temporary jobs in Spain and then return to their country. The agreement is similar to that adopted with Mauritania and has the same spirit as those signed with several Latin American countries such as Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina or Uruguay, and even with Senegal, which Sánchez will visit today. An agreement was also signed in the area of security and the fight against crime, "which will allow us to further increase our cooperation", according to Sánchez during the visit he made to the port from the capital to the civil guards and police officers who work with Gambian security forces in the fight against immigration and in strengthening their borders. In statements without questions, the president praised the “fruitful collaboration” and thanked the African country for its efforts. “Spain and Gambia have become key partners in the field of security, especially in the area of border surveillance and in the fight against irregular migration,” he said. “Together we have a common goal: to save lives at sea and to tackle those mafias that exploit people who have a legitimate desire to prosper,” he stressed. Sánchez praised the Spanish troops deployed in Gambia, where there are currently four members of the National Police integrated into an EU POC Team and six Civil Guard agents operating a semi-rigid boat and an all-terrain vehicle. “Your work on migration with Gambia is essential to avoid the loss of human lives and to achieve a management of the migration challenge that is safe, orderly and regular,” he said, stressing that “the migration phenomenon does not understand borders.” For this reason, he maintained that the Government “is committed to a migration policy in which all the actors involved participate and which encourages collaboration with the countries of origin, transit, and also destination, because only in this way will we be able to face a challenge that is transnational like migration.” For his part, the Gambian Minister of Defense, Sering Modou Njie, also thanked Spain for its help, and in particular the support it has been providing to the country's security forces, praising the “fantastic collaboration.” “We will continue to work closely with Spain to increase and deepen our bilateral relations,” he promised.
