Angel Lossado Tores-Quevedo, the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, yesterday, paid a courtesy call on President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh in his office at State House, Banjul.

Mr Quevedo is currently on a visit to Banjul with a group of officials from the Spanish foreign ministry. Their visit is aimed at improving and intensifying the existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking to waiting newsmen shortly after having audience with The Gambian leader, the Spanish envoy said the occasion availed him the opportunity to explain to Dr Jammeh the various  fields of bilateral cooperation and  projects between Spain and The Gambia.

He added: “We have had the opportunity to share our opinions on issues of joint work on international cooperation, the work we are doing in terms of creating job opportunities for youths here in The Gambia”.

He disclosed that the issue  of illegal migration, an area of cooperation between the two countries was also discussed as well as measures needed to tackle the phenomenon, describing it as a global problem.

Dilating on the steps needed to curb the issue, the Spanish envoy said the creation of employment opportunities locally is a right step, reaffirming his countriy’s stance on illegal migration.

He then revealed that Spain is assisting The Gambia to the tune of 7M Euros,  in various fields of development such as education, infrastructure and job creation for the youthfolk through the Gamjobs project under the UNDP  

On the possibility of granting working visas for Gambians to work in Spain, the envoy said it was possible but referred to the joint commission that established the agreement between the two states which he said would soon meet to explore various areas including this specific issue.