Sánchez receives Biden’s endorsement for his “tremendous work” on immigration

taketonews

the journey of Pedro Sanchez to the White House to meet with Joe Biden It has taken time to develop and materialize, but when this Friday finally arrived, coinciding with the first day of the electoral campaign for the municipal and regional elections, it covered several of the objectives pursued by the Spanish president, who was seeking deepen the good harmony of bilateral relations and project the image of international relevance of Spain.

Finally sitting in the Oval Office, and before starting a bilateral discussion of almost an hour, Sánchez has seen how the president of the United States praised in front of the cameras the “leadership” and the “alliance” of the Spanish president regarding support for Ukraine in the face of the invasion war launched by Russia. The democrat has been especially effusive when applauding the socialist for the immigration policies. “You are doing a tremendous job in this sense & rdquor ;, he said. Furthermore, when Sánchez has praised Biden as a “benchmark of democracy” and told him that he can count on Spain in his fight to maintain and defend those values, the US leader replied: “I count on you”.

cooperation on migration

The question of the migration is central and vital for Biden, especially on a day like this Friday, when all eyes in the US were on the southern border with Mexico and on the possibility of a crisis of massive arrival in the face of a change in US policies due to the end of the rule that allowed the forced returns of migrants. And by highlighting the work of Sánchez, and addressing agreements in this field at his meeting, the US president, running for re-election in 2024you can underline and try to bring the focus back to the part of your strategy that you are looking for increase avenues to promote legal immigration, and portray the phenomenon of migration as a global problem that also requires global solutions.

That’s a philosophy Biden shares with Sanchezwho wants the Spanish Presidency of the European Union serve to reach, or at least to lay the foundations of a migration and asylum pact,Although the Government warns that it is a “very complex” objective due to the disparity of positions between the Member States.

“Both governments have a similar vision on how to deal with the fight against irregular migration and the best for to be able to build a regular immigration system and against the mafias who traffic and play with life human beings is that of encourage positive incentives for regular migration”, Sánchez highlighted after the meeting in his statements to the press at the gates of the White House. He specifically has listed “projects of circular immigration that Spain has with South American countries, a specific program for talent“, as well as the agreement reached with Washington whereby Spain will participate in a resettlement program for people with refugee status.

What Sánchez has not been able to do is give specific details about the real impact that this last program will have, which he has called “innovative”, to alleviate the migratory flow to the US. “we can’t set number because it’s going to depend on the labor needs we have in Spain”, he said when he was reminded that in recent days alone, up to 11,000 people have been intercepted at the southern US border.

“Friends, allies and strategic partners”

Sánchez also wanted to underline the “common values ​​and the “excellent & rdquor; bilateral relations. “Are allies, friends and strategic partners& rdquor ;, he said in the Oval Office. Also Biden, before their meeting, had spoken of the socialist as a “close associate and ally president” in a tweet from his official account.

The Spanish president has also spoken about the harmony of the two administrations by putting “in the center & rdquor; of the policies “the green initiatives and the digital transformation”, jointly seek the success of the COP 28 climate summit or the regulation of the artificial intelligence”, and has highlighted the “excellent bilateral relationship in defensein science, commerce, investments & rdquor ;.

In their dialogue they also reviewed the agreement whereby two other US destroyers will be deployed at the Rota base and the incorporation of Spain into the Artemis project, with which the US seeks to regulate the peaceful and coordinated exploitation of the Moon and other long-term celestial bodies. They have also made “a breakthrough” in addressing the dovecote cleaning, an issue in which, according to the Spaniard, there is a “will to solve the problem”. They have also touched on initiatives related to gender equality or LGTBi rights. And they have talked about commercial disputes with the black olive which, as the Spanish have recognized, is a “element of friction in extraordinary relationships” and where he said he noticed “responsiveness on the part of Biden”.

Sánchez’s was the first visit to the White House by a socialist president since the one he made in 2009 Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapaterothen invited by Barack Obama. It also arrives, like that one, after going through a period of estrangement and tension with US Republican presidents. If in the case of Zapatero this cooling off was experienced with George Bush in the Oval Office, in the case of Sánchez it happened with the government of donald trump.

Related news

Sánchez and Biden have strengthened their ties since they met a little less than a year ago at the NATO summit held in Madrid. There are many issues where both leaders have tuning: the war in Ukraine, the migratory phenomenon, fighting the climate change or progressive economic measures.

The meeting this Friday has also served the Spanish president to convey to his American counterpart his impressions on the role of China, after the trip he made a month and a half ago to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping. The relations between the two main world economic powers are very deteriorated, and in this sense, sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explain that Spain, like the EU in general, can bridge.



ttn-24