By Omar Bah
During his imminent visit to The Gambia, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, is expected to sign a migration programme with The Gambia that will allow workers from the country to go to Spain for short periods to meet labour needs and then return home.
Alongside the Gambia, Spain will sign a similar agreement with Mauritania.
Already, a similar programme with Senegal has enabled at least 100 Senegalese to work on Spanish farms during the harvest season.
The prime minister will start his second visit to West Africa today, aiming to curb migration to the Canary Islands and to counter the Russian presence in the Sahel region. But more importantly on this visit, Sanchez is focusing on strengthening relations with Mauritania, Senegal, and Gambia, the main departure points for migrant boats.
The West African migration route has seen a 154% surge this year, with 21,620 people crossing to the Canary Islands in the first seven months, according to data from the European Union border agency Frontex.
The wave has stretched resources on the Spanish archipelago, with local authorities saying they may have to house migrants in military camps or even in tents ahead of an expected rise in arrivals due to calmer conditions in the Atlantic Ocean.
Spanish authorities fear that as many as 150,000 more migrants from Africa may be set to make the perilous crossing in the coming months.
Gambian migrants are among an unprecedented nearly 5,000 migrants confirmed dead at sea in the first five months of 2024 trying to reach the Spanish Canary Islands, according to a report released by migration rights group Walking Borders recently.
According to the group, between 1 January and 31 May, some 4,808 people died on the Atlantic voyage to the Canaries after departing from Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, making it the deadliest route between Africa and Spain, with 95% of migrant deaths.
Background
Spain’s policy on temporary and circular mobility is based on a legal framework that promotes recruitment in the country of origin as one of the main routes of access to the Spanish labour market by foreign workers. In this context, the “Collective Management of Recruitment in Country of Origin” mechanism is used to recruit the majority of temporary workers in their country of origin. The law also provides for other forms of access authorising the residence and work of foreign nationals, outside the Contingent framework, such as fixed-term authorisations for residence and work under the General Scheme, permits for the provision of transnational services, and other authorisation granted for stays for the purposes of research, study and traineeships.
Since 2004, temporary and circular migration policies have formed part of an overall strategic framework designed to harmonise actions for the management and regulation of migration flows with those for development, collaboration on flow control and economic and political cooperation with countries of origin.
