The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, defended last Thursday in Madrid that cooperation between Europe and Africa must be built on the basis of equality and mutual respect, without paternalistic attitudes. The statement was made at the opening of the conference Africa: investment in talent and development, held at the headquarters of the CEOE.
Clavijo stressed that migration cannot be analysed solely from the point of view of arrival in Europe, as many African countries also play a role as transit territories. Recognising this reality is key to designing shared and sustainable solutions, he said.
The Canary Islands leader called for Brussels to draw up a clear policy on migration issues and criticised the current dispersion of strategies. Meanwhile, he stressed that the archipelago has decided to promote its own cooperation agenda with the neighbouring continent, supported by employment programmes and specialised forums.
Among these initiatives, he mentioned the Tierra Firme project, aimed at generating job opportunities in vulnerable environments, and Africagua 2025, an international meeting to be held in November in Fuerteventura with a focus on water management and renewable energies.
The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, also spoke at the event, recalling the importance of Africa as an area of economic growth and opportunities in infrastructures, transport and energy. For his part, Luis Padilla, the Canary Islands Government's head of relations with Africa, explained that the cooperation programmes have enabled the creation of hundreds of jobs and seek to consolidate lasting jobs beyond initial training.
The meeting thus underlined the need to forge economic and social ties between the two continents that go beyond the migration debate and are oriented towards a shared future of development.
Source: infobae.com; ABC