A migration agreement was signed on Thursday between Mauritania and the European Union, as the nation battles to control an influx of individuals attempting the perilous trek across the Atlantic Ocean to reach Spain’s Canary Islands.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson hailed the agreement, which includes $230 million for Mauritania to control migration and combat people smugglers, at a speech in the capital, Nouakchott.
“The route from Mauritania to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest and most dangerous you can take,” she said.
“This is why it is of crucial importance that we reinforce our partnership and also include support for the border management and for search-and-rescue.”
Mauritania is a strategic partner for the EU in the Sahel.
Our new
migration partnership will provide job opportunities, protection, legal migration, fighting migrant smugglers and strong border management
In the first two months of this year, Spain claims that over 12,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in its islands in the Atlantic Ocean, which are situated about 100 kilometres off the coast of Africa.
Thousands have made it through the perilous voyage, but many more perish or vanish in the process.
“Our nation, will not be a country for irregular migrants, and the European Union agrees with that. And Mauritania will not receive them, nor lodge them in accordance with this common agreement,” said Mauritania’s Minister for the Economy and Sustainable Development, Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh.
Spain has been deploying civil guards and national police to Mauritania for years in order to assist local authorities in preventing migrants from leaving the country and other neighbouring countries on the dangerous trek.
The International Organisation for Migrations Missing Migrants Project states that as of now in 2024, at least 191 migrants have been confirmed killed or missing while attempting to reach the Canary Islands.
However, it’s thought that figure is an underestimate.
