By Makutu Manneh
President Adama Barrow will today, 28 August 2024, receive the prime minister of Spain at the State House to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on secular migration and police cooperation.
This information was provided to the waiting pressmen/women after Maria Dolores Rios Peset, the Kingdom of Spain Ambassador to The Gambia residing in Dakar presented her letter of credence
to President Barrow.
She said there will also be a political declaration that will put together all the priorities the government of The Gambia and Spain share.
“This visit will improve the very excellent relationship we have,” she said.
“We had a very good and friendly conversation, we spoke of the excellent relationship between our two countries. We have more than 25 thousand Gambians in Spain that are working well and fully integrated.”
She added that the ties between the two countries are strong and they want to strengthen it more.
Visiting The Gambia in June this year, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation of Spain, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno has equally informed the press that the two countries will have a negotiation on secular migration and sign a security agreement.
The Spanish archipelago — located close to the African coast and used as a stepping stone for migrants and refugees trying to reach continental Europe — has seen more than 22,000 people disembark on its shores since January, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry, more than double the number of irregular arrivals for the same period last year.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez begins his visit in Mauritania before continuing south to Gambia and Senegal. The three coastal nations have become the main departure points used by smugglers to launch overcrowded boats. Thousands of Malian refugees fleeing violence and instability are among those embarking on the perilous Atlantic route to the Canaries, as well as unemployed youth from Senegal, Mauritania and other West African nations who seek better job opportunities abroad.
