Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, yesterday chaired the meeting of the Africa Roundtable, charged with developing the Ministry’s Africa Strategy and which includes representatives of the General State Administration and Spanish civil society.
“Spain will inaugurate a new stage in its relations with the countries of the African continent,” declared the minister through his official account on the social network X. “Today I chaired the meeting of the Africa Roundtable at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the Africa Strategy, which we will soon launch,” he added.
One of the tasks of the Roundtable is the preparation of the final text of the Strategy, which will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for final approval. The objective of this Strategy, according to Foreign Affairs, is to make Spain’s relations with Africa more strategic, taking into account the neighbourhood and the dynamics underway in the African territory.
Likewise, the Strategy aims to accompany the economic and social transformation of the countries of the continent with a focus on youth, seeks “greater agreement with its African partners based on the reinforcement of partnerships and the principle of mutual respect” and aims to raise Spain’s “leadership” “as the European country closest to Africa.”
Unlike the three African Plans, according to the Ministry, this Strategy includes the entire continent, but pays special attention to West Africa and the Sahel. Another distinctive element is that “Spain will enter into agreements with African countries at a multilateral level,” both with the European Union, assuming a greater role in the orientation and execution of European policy towards Africa, and with the UN and the G-20. The “first milestone” of the Strategy will be the IV International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in Seville in June 2025.
On September 3, Albares presented the new Africa Strategy to the Secretaries of State of the different Ministries involved and, two days later, the Minister met with the representatives of the African Embassies to explain the content of the Strategy. The Ministry has also sent the details to the different African Governments through the Spanish Embassies in Africa and through the visits to Africa recently made by the Minister himself.
