The Africa Board, described by the minister as “a unique initiative, an example of the integration vocation of foreign policy”, is a platform for the exchange of information and coordination between the Government of Spain, through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, and stakeholders from Spanish civil society interested in relations with Africa. The Board members include representatives of NGOs, associations of the African diaspora and Afro-Spaniards, and the business sector.
The document presented today was drawn up by representatives of development NGOs, the Academy and African diaspora organisations in Spain, along with representatives of various ministerial departments and public entities, including universities and research centres.
The numerous proposals, which can be consulted on the ministry’s website, include: aspiring to create an Afro-Spanish research and thought ecosystem, attracting more African postgraduate students to Spanish universities, exploring the opportunities that arise in African markets stemming from the increase in a globalised urban middle class, preparing didactic Spanish-language teaching materials in collaboration with the African countries that request this and forming high-level work teams from African countries to run the subsidiaries of Spanish companies on the continent.
The minister expressed his gratitude for the quality of the proposals and agreed with the representatives of civil society that feminist foreign policy is a hallmark of Spain’s foreign action in Africa and argued that “this needs reinforcing, as a serious development policy in Africa without working with women is unthinkable”.
José Manuel Albares referred to the external evaluation of the 3rd Africa Plan, carried out in 2022 by the Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies, highlighting that this is “the first time that a part of our foreign policy has been evaluated”.
This evaluation, which will be published online, indicates that the implementation of the 3rd Africa Plan is incorporating the strategic planning into foreign action and that its visibility and effectiveness in Africa have been improved. Recommendations are also made, such as strengthening central mechanisms for inter-ministerial coordination and improving the system of monitoring and evaluation indicators. The minister stated that the recommendations of the evaluation will be incorporated in the revision of the 3rd Africa Plan.
The minister also addressed the economic dimension with Africa and considered that “there can be no true development without private investment”. In this regard, the State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, analysed the first year of implementation in Senegal of the pilot exercise to coordinate stakeholders and instruments to promote Spanish business presence and investment.
The participants on the Africa Board in representation of civil society were Lourdes Benavides (OXFAM-INTERMON); Pedro Carceller (Cáritas); Simon Nong (África Activa); Marta Blanco, President of CEOE International; Jesús Jiménez (Exporters and Investors Club); Jaime Montalvo (Chamber of Commerce of Spain); Elsa Aimé González (Group of African Studies - GEA-Autonomous University of Madrid); Teresa Langle (Women for Africa Foundation) and Antumi Toasijé (Pan-African Centre).
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Photos: Elena Vierna (Nolsom)