Spain Has Launched the Spanish Plan Africa 2009 - 2012, which encourages key initiatives that could play a role in preventing conflicts and strengthening peace in post-conflict areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Plan Africa 2009-2012 tries to bring Spanish and African cultures closer through several ways like education for development and promotion of the Spanish language.

The plan presents Africa, as a continent with challenges, but also with great potential and opportunities.

It includes an innovative regional approach towards Sub-Saharan Africa, which will back integration processes in the continent as a way of encouraging the development of countries and of improvement of national security and stability.

This will be done without affecting the bilateral relations between Spain and the African countries. In this context the relationship with the following continental and regional organisations will be reinforced: the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Horn of Africa, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).