In the midst of a surge in cayucos heading to the Canary Islands from the coasts of Mauritania, the Government of Pedro Sánchez has managed to get the European Union to become more involved in the refugee crisis experienced by the African country, considered the last strategic partner of the West in the Sahel—an increasingly turbulent area due to the expansion of jihadism. It is estimated that in the Mbera camp, on the border with Mali, some 92,000 people live poorly. And the number increases every week because thousands of Malians continue to arrive fleeing the war between Tuaregs, jihadists and the Army. This scenario has a direct impact on Spain, which has become the main irregular access route to Europe after boat arrivals from Mauritania have skyrocketed in the last two months. A wave of boats that is in the form of a distress call.
Spain has heeded that emergency call, and this Thursday the leader of the executive, Pedro Sánchez, landed in Nouakchott, hand in hand with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to meet with his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould. Ghazouani. At mid-morning, after being received with honors at the international airport near the capital, they went to the Presidential Palace, between streets full of Spanish and European flags, to put a package of more than 300 million euros on the Mauritanian government's table: 210 of them from the European budget and an additional 110 from Spain for cooperation in humanitarian aid.
The philosophy of this aid is similar to that offered to Tunisia, from where the vast majority of boats leave for Italy. What is urgent now in Mauritania: sign police collaboration agreements that allow greater border control on the coasts to stop the departures of canoes. The important thing, also in Mauritania: to irrigate the country with economic investments to create opportunities that discourage irregular migrations.
These are the ideas on which the recent migration pact reached by the European partners is based, in line with the migration policy of the coalition government. As the president commented on the Air Force plane that took him to Mauritania, Spain trusts that the signing of these agreements will have a immediate effect on irregular entries. Something that today the Canarian president, Fernando Clavijo, has questioned.
At the national level, a new Country Framework Agreement has been signed, in which the 110 million for Mauritania are allocated. This document foresees 60 million euros for development projects over the next four years. Additionally, Sánchez has committed to starting financial cooperation projects for an amount of 50 million euros in the next five years. Humanitarian aid will also be doubled, increasing from one million euros dedicated in 2023 to two million in 2024. The Government has ensured that the reinforcement of cooperation in border control also remains black on white. In addition, both governments are exploring circular migration projects, such as the one that the Ministry of Inclusion carries out with South American countries.
At the center of the investments that the European Union wants to project is the commitment to the energy transition and the decarbonization of Mauritania's economy through the development of its green hydrogen industries. Precisely this issue was the focus of the round table in which Spanish companies such as Acciona, Enagás and Eurofer, among others, participated. At the table, Sánchez recalled that large-scale production of green hydrogen “is only possible” in countries that “have availability of land and significant potential for renewable generation.” And Spain is one of them.
According to calculations offered by Sánchez, the hydrogen economy can contribute 32 billion euros per year to Spain's GDP and maintain more than 80,000 jobs during its development. And Mauritania could follow in that wake if it makes “large investments.” The Government has proposed to the Mauritanian president the association under the Global Gateway initiative, with which to create quality jobs and preserve the economic and social added value here. Thus, it has offered 200 million euros in financial support over the next five years to facilitate the development of leading renewable energy projects with Spanish participation.
Irregular immigration, investments and the fight against terrorism. This is the last of the axes on which the Spanish delegation's trip to Mauritania pivots. At a time when the anti-jihadist alliance created by five African countries in 2015 – under the name of G5 of the Sahel – has dissolved after Mauritania and Chad signed its death after the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, from the West Mauritania is seen as the last bastion in the area that has not chosen Russia as a new partner to fight terrorism. And that is where Spain understands that the European Union cannot leave a vacuum of presence in the face of instability.
