Escrivá: "The bilateral social security agreement with Senegal protects citizens who have worked in both countries and encourages regular migration"

Minister Escrivá, during his online intervention at the legal conference on the Bilateral Agreement on Social Security with Senegal, pointed out that this instrument "will make it possible to manage the Social Security rights of workers who move between the two countries and will favour a return with full rights and guarantees, promoting emigration through safe channels".

In addition to Minister Escrivá, the Minister for Labour, Social Dialogue and Relations with Senegalese Institutions, Samba Sy, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Senegal, Olga Cabarga Gómez, and the ambassador of Senegal in Spain, Mariame Sy, are also taking part in this day of dissemination of the agreement, which is being held at the Cervantes Institute in Dakar.

Spain and Senegal signed a bilateral social security agreement on 22 November 2020. The signing of this milestone is part of the intense relations that have existed for decades and that deepened in 2000, when an important migratory flow from Senegal to Spain developed. Spain was Senegal's first European customer, ahead of France and Italy, in 2020 and 2021. And Senegal was Spain's second customer in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019.

Subsequently, Spain went through its internal procedure with the approval of the Parliament. Senegal adopted the ratification law on 21 December 2021. Once the internal procedures have been completed and duly communicated to each country, the Convention and the Administrative Arrangement will enter into force.

The agreement will allow workers who have developed their careers in both countries to add their contribution periods in both countries to be entitled to a future social security benefit. At the same time, it establishes rules that favour business investment by giving more legal certainty to posted workers who want to continue in the social security system of the country where they were hired, without having to register in the system of the country to which they move. It also provides for administrative cooperation between the bodies managing social security in order to facilitate procedures for the citizens concerned and reduce bureaucracy.

The Senegalese community in Spain numbers almost 70,000 people and nearly 14,000 have acquired Spanish citizenship in the last two decades. Moreover, the number of Senegalese people registered with the social security system is 41,131, a number that has grown even during the pandemic. "This data shows their high level of labour and social integration in our country", Escrivá pointed out.

Spain also has a growing community in the African country, almost 3,000 residents. The signing of this bilateral social security agreement is the result of the growing business exchanges and the increase in the Senegalese population working in Spain, as well as the need to anticipate a future in which investment, mobility and return may be more relevant. And also for the commitments made at the Valletta Summit and the Marrakech Global Compact, which call for such agreements to be concluded to help manage regular migration flows.

Non official translation