The agreements signed focus on the promotion of programmes for the selection of workers at origin to fill seasonal, seasonal or campaign positions.

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, recalled ‘the importance of strengthening collaboration with friendly countries such as Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal, with whom we have a long-standing relationship of cooperation and friendly relations’. This is what the minister said at the end of a three-day trip to these countries, during which she accompanied the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and during which three memorandums of understanding on circular migration were signed, which will lead to the development of programmes for the selection of workers at source.

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Government signs agreements with Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal to strengthen safe and regular migration channels and protect workers’ rights

The agenda of the trip included meetings with Presidents Mohmed Cheikh El Ghazouani (Islamic Republic of Mauritania), Bassirou Diomaye Faye (Republic of Senegal) and Adama Barrow, (Republic of Gambia). The Spanish delegation also visited the Cervantes Institute and the patrol boat donated to the Gambian government, where they met the contingent of the Guardia Civil and the national police stationed in the country.

Minister Saiz expressed Spain’s commitment to advancing safe migration channels while at the same time pursuing mafias and human trafficking crimes. In this regard, she stressed that ‘circular migration programmes are a win-win for all parties involved. They are an extraordinary example of our migration policies: we procure the labour we need, we protect the rights of workers, and we also facilitate the return of these people to their countries of origin, with the benefits that this can also bring for the development of their communities.

‘I would like to thank the authorities of Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal for their welcome and their willingness to work collaboratively on migration policy issues that affect us all,’ said Saiz.

Memoranda of Understanding
The purpose of the Memoranda of Understanding that has been signed is to establish a framework for cooperation to address issues of common interest and concern in migration matters. They propose the implementation of programmes for the selection of workers in their countries of origin for fixed-term work. Once these jobs have been completed, the people posted to Spain return to their communities.

Thanks to the reform of the regulation of foreigners, the circular migration procedures for this type of programme have been simplified. They can grant people, through a fixed-term contract, an authorisation of up to four years’ duration, which allows them to work for a maximum of 9 months per year. This allows them to come every year to work and to return after that period with the guarantees set out in their contract that they will be recruited in the following season. Before the reform, these projects had to be processed every year, and now it is done once every four years, significantly reducing all administrative burdens for companies and migrants.

The Directorate General of Migration Management of the Ministry of Inclusion will work with the respective departments of Labour, Migration and Social Security of the embassies in Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal to send them generic job offers to which these countries can respond. This communication will include the definition of the professional profile requested and the working conditions offered and will establish the minimum number of candidates to be pre-selected.

Once the local authorities have communicated whether or not there are enough candidates with the required professional profile, a pre-selection system of candidates will be carried out. The workers will be informed of the temporary nature of the authorisation granted and will formally undertake to return to their country of origin once the work contract has ended.

Mauritania: regular migratory mobility
Around 10,000 Mauritanians live in Spain and Mauritania is an important trading partner for Spain in the region. A total of 440 Spanish companies regularly export to Mauritania and 101 Mauritanian companies regularly export to Spain.

Diplomatic relations with Mauritania have traditionally focused on fisheries and development cooperation, but the agenda has been progressively broadened to include the fight against mafias that profit from irregular migration, terrorism and organised crime, investment promotion and defence cooperation.

In addition, the Mauritanian government has on many occasions expressed its willingness to make progress on migratory mobility, in particular circular migration, to send a message to young people who risk their lives at sea that there is another way to migrate, in an orderly, safe and legal manner.

‘The joint declaration that has been adopted on this trip is a clear sign of the good moment our relations are going through,’ explained the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, after he met with the President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazuani, in Nouakchott. The document covers a wide range of matters of common interest, such as business development, the promotion of cultural relations, the strengthening of cooperation on security issues, and, in particular, the shared and orderly management of the migratory phenomenon, among others.

Senegal: a decades-long relationship
Spain and Senegal have a long-standing relationship of cooperation and friendly relations that both States consider important to intensify. The signing of the Memorandum is part of these intense relations that have been maintained for decades and which deepened since 2000 when an important migratory flow to Spain from Senegal developed.

There are currently 52,300 Senegalese people registered with Social Security in Spain.

In 2020, Spain and Senegal signed a Bilateral Social Security Agreement that allows workers who have developed their professional careers in both countries to add their contribution periods in both countries to generate entitlement to a future Social Security benefit. In turn, the agreement establishes rules that favour business investment by giving more legal security to posted workers who wish to continue in the Social Security system of the country in which they were hired, without having to register in the system of the country to which they are moving. It also provides for administrative cooperation between the entities that manage social security to facilitate procedures for the citizens concerned and reduce bureaucracy.

The Gambia: reintegration and opportunity at Origin
Bilateral political relations with The Gambia have intensified since the migration crisis of 2006, when a series of high-level visits were initiated. At that time, the foundations were laid for a relationship that, with cooperation in the fight against illegal migration as its epicentre, has gradually expanded to other areas, such as the recent Memorandum.

Diplomatic relations between Spain and The Gambia have so far been characterised by a focus on bilateral migration cooperation, with specific agreements aimed at the reintegration of returned migrants and the creation of local economic opportunities. The Memorandum of Understanding is a further step in this direction.

In Spain, there are 16,370 workers from The Gambia and the number of Spaniards in the African country is 1,330.