The president of Cape Verde said he hoped for a strengthening of bilateral relations and revealed that the Government of Madrid and the West African countries are preparing a summit to address issues such as security.
Spain considers Cape Verde a “reference partner” in Africa due to its democratic stability and proximity to the Canary Islands, the Government of Madrid stated this Monday, on the eve of the visit of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs to Praia.
José Manuel Albares will be in Cape Verde on Tuesday to meet with the authorities of the African country, including his Cape Verdean counterpart, Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares.
The trip takes place two months after the visit to Spain of the president of Cape Verde, José María Neves, who said at the time that he hoped for a strengthening of bilateral relations and revealed that the Government of Madrid and the West African countries are preparing a summit to address issues such as security in the Gulf of Guinea, migration and support for development in the region.
“Cape Verde is a reference partner for Spain in this region of Africa in terms of governance, rule of law and democracy, and occupies a strategic place due to its position in Africa and its proximity to the Canary Islands, which makes it a key place actor for maritime security and stability,” the Spanish Government stated this Monday, in a statement announcing Albares’ visit to Praia.
This trip aims to “reinforce Spain’s commitment to Africa” and is part of Spain’s “commitment to the development of sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel,” according to the Madrid executive.
The relocation is also a commitment by Spain to “the economic future” of Cape Verde “and the reforms designed to favor the implementation of the blue economy and increase security,” the same text reads.
Spain is Cape Verde’s first client and second supplier within the European Union, in addition to being the third destination for Spanish investments in sub-Saharan Africa, with emphasis on the fishing and tourism sectors.
“And it wishes to continue being a strategic economic partner” of Cape Verde, the executive highlighted in the same statement.
During this visit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MNE) José Manuel Albares will express “the interest of Spanish companies in increasing their activity” in Cape Verde, in addition to asking the Government of Praia to join the International Alliance against Drought promoted by Spain, the International Desalination Association (IDRA) and the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual and intersex) network.
According to the same statement, Spanish cooperation with Cape Verde foresees more than 10 million euros for the period 2021-2024.
At the same time, “Spain and Cape Verde share points of view on international politics,” particularly in relation to Ukraine and the Gaza conflict, the Madrid Government also highlighted.
The Spanish Government, headed by the socialist Pedro Sánchez, presented the “Focus Africa 2023” plan in 2021, with which it attempts to mark a turning point in relations with the African continent and diversify its diplomatic influence outside Europe, traditionally focused on America. Latin America and North Africa.
The “Africa Focus 2023” considers Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa as “anchor countries” and, as “priority countries”, the Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique, in addition to Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.
“Africa is a continent with growing geostrategic importance and is key for our country’s foreign action. Spain wants to establish solid alliances with African countries to together face the challenges we have in common,” said Pedro Sánchez, in October 2022.
According to Sánchez, “the climate emergency is without a doubt” the greatest of these common challenges, to which he added “the energy transition that this climate emergency implies”, “technological evolution”, food security or migratory movements.
Sánchez visited Kenya and South Africa in 2022, after visiting Senegal and Angola in 2021.
In April, the president of Cape Verde stated in Madrid, after a meeting with Sánchez, that Spain and West African countries were preparing a summit to address issues such as security in the Gulf of Guinea, migration and support for the development of the region.
Spain faces an unprecedented increase in arrivals of irregular immigrants to the Canary Islands, especially since the middle of last year.
The Spanish Government attributes this increase in numbers to the instability in the Sahel region and has promoted and defended greater bilateral cooperation between the European Union and the African countries of origin and transit of migrants to respond to this issue.
José María Neves recalled in April that Spain and Cape Verde already have a bilateral agreement in the field of security to protect the Cape Verdean coasts with joint patrols “which has been very successful.”
“But it is possible to expand this cooperation even further,” he added, recalling that there are also agreements with other countries in the European Union (such as Portugal) and with the United Kingdom.
Source: Observadora
