Spain is kicking against the prevailing political mood among Western nations when it comes to migration and policies regarding the African continent.
At a time when the US, the UK, France and Germany are all cutting back their development aid budgets, Madrid remains committed to continued expansion, albeit from a lower starting point.
This week, the Spanish capital has been hosting an African Union-backed world conference on people of African descent designed to discuss restorative justice and the creation of a new development fund.
It is just the latest sign of how Spain's socialist-led government is seeking to deepen and diversify its engagement with the continent, which lies just a few kilometers to the south across the Straits of Gibraltar.
In July, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares launched a new advisory council comprising prominent intellectual, diplomatic and cultural figures, more than half of them African, to monitor the delivery of the detailed Spain-Africa strategy published at the end of the previous year.
New embassies south of the Sahara and partnerships in business and education are planned.
The contrast between Spain's approach and that of others in the West is not just in spending but in tone and mindset – and nowhere more so than in dealing with migration.
Like other centre-left and centre-right leaders in Europe, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is looking for ways to contain the influx of irregular arrivals.
Facing electoral challenges from the radical right, Sanchez finds himself in a political landscape driven by public concern over migration, with hardline parties such as Vox garnering significant support.
In July, reports emerged of extra security forces needing to be deployed against violent incidents involving racist groups in regions where migrant labor is prevalent.
Yet, for the government, migration holds challenges that are as practical as they are political.
More than 45,000 people made the perilous sea crossing from Africa's west coast to the Canary Islands last year, with an estimated 1,400 to 10,460 lives lost in the process.
In stark contrast to the often hostile rhetoric from many European capitals, the Sanchez government acknowledges the hard economic realities in West Africa pushing individuals to migrate.
It is working to develop creative policy alternatives that promote safer, orderly migration which benefits both migrants and Spain. On his visit to Mauritania, Sanchez emphasized that migrants contribute positively to the Spanish economy.
The Spanish government has initiated training programs for youth in countries like Senegal to foster viable livelihoods in their home countries, while also expanding a 'circular migration' program that offers short-term visas for seasonal work in Spain.
Spain's innovative approach underscores the belief that cooperation with Africa is essential not just for migration management but also for mutual development and prosperity.
