The future of international politics is at stake in
Africa
.
Now that the war in Ukraine represents a paradigm shift in many international relations, the dark continent is the focus of
Spain
's foreign strategy and has become a priority in the Ministry's policy.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, already said it last Monday at the
Club Siglo XXI
: "Whether we design this new order or simply that an order is imposed on us will depend on the decisions we make."
For this reason, it is no coincidence that since Pedro Sánchez came to power, the president has made two tours of Africa and has sent his head of diplomacy on as many tours of the continent, including countries as innovative as
Kenya
or
South Africa
.
But now Spain's commitment goes one step further with sub-Saharan Africa with the state trip that King Felipe and Queen Letizia are making to that area of the continent for the first time since Monday.
From today and for 48 hours, the Head of State will be in
Angola
.
"Traditionally we were more interested in
North Africa
, but there is a paradigm shift in 2019, with the approval of the third
Africa Plan
," explains
Ainhoa Marín Egoscozábal
, a researcher at
the Elcano Royal Institute
, in a telephone conversation with EL MUNDO.
In that document, Albares already gave clues in the prologue about where he would focus his foreign objectives: «Spain must lead the new rapprochement of the EU with Africa.
We are the best country to do it.
We can consider ourselves a bicontinental country, since an important part of our population and territory are geographically located on the African continent and on its coasts », she reflected in the prologue.
Pedro Sánchez in South Africa in October 2022.MONCLOA
As Marín develops, "until now Spain's interests in Africa involved security or cooperation, that continues, but now there is economic interest, economic diplomacy is what is sought in sub-Saharan Africa."
Part of this paradigm shift has been accelerated by the war in Ukraine, which "has put African countries as an alternative for energy supplies."
Another of the keys that Marín provides to understand this interest in recent years is that the world's megatrends pass through Africa: «They are going to double the size of the population, and that means challenges and labor for Europe.
They also suffer the effects of climate change », he lists.
“For decades, we have understood each other very well with
Ibero
-America but we have not paid attention to Africa, which is 14 kilometers away from us”, summarizes the journalist
Alberto Rojas
to analyze the current interest in the region.
According to him, Spain's strategy responds to an energy and defense question, something
Rosa Meneses
agrees with .
"The blockade of Russian oil and stop depending on them leads to diversify energy sources."
In this sense, Spain was not so dependent on
Putin
, but the last trips have served to consolidate relations with oil and gas suppliers such as
Nigeria
.
Angola is also an oil exporter, and Spain is its fourth international client and the second European.
Albares in Niger last month.MARISCALEFE
FIGHT WITH RUSSIA
But in addition to diversifying the energy supply, especially after the crisis with Algeria caused by the change in position regarding the
Sahara
that materialized in the closure of the
Maghreb
gas pipeline to Spain, the question of defense becomes a priority.
In various African countries, the
Wagner
militiamen have already installed themselves and, after training in Russia, act as a private army under Putin's orders in countries like
Mali
, whose presence has forced
France to
to withdraw all its missions there, a decision that Spain will have to make at some point.
Marín explains that in Africa "they are divided regarding Russia", although the position of some countries does evolve.
Angola, for example, "abstained in the first vote of
the
United Nations General Assembly
against
the Russian attack on Ukraine but in the second they did condemn it."
On the continent, both the allies and Putin "struggle to control the narratives," summarizes Marín.
"That Russia does not continue to gain territories in Africa is essential," says Rojas, who believes that "it is a strategy of Spain, but also of the
European Union
."
In fact, strengthening Spain's relations with Sub-Saharan Africa is also a priority for the next presidency of the European Union, which Spain will lead in the second half of the year.
Thus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself stated on Monday: "We need a public agenda with the Maghreb and with Africa, turning the
Mediterranean
into a field of concrete cooperation for both societies," he developed.
Europe's land border with Africa is the Spanish border, and it is the most unequal in the world », he reflected.
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European Union
Africa
Felipe VI
Jose Manuel Albares
Pedro Sanchez
Petroleum
Queen Letizia