2025 World Border Security Congress: Patrolling the Periphery

The 2025 World Border Security Congress will be hosted in Madrid, Spain on 25th-27th March 2025, cohosted by the Ministry of Interior, National Police and Guardia Civil.

Spain’s vast coastline and strategic location between Africa and Europe present unique challenges for the National Police and Guardia Civil.

Spain has long experience and hard-won expertise in managing one of the world’s most complex border environments, facing multiple border challenges.

Spain has approximately 8000 km of coastal borders, both on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and major island groups in both, the Balearic and Canary Islands. It has land borders with four European nations Portugal, France, Andorra, and the UK, and two separate land borders with Morocco through its territories of Ceuta and Melilla.

Its main challenges stem from its proximity to the African coast. With only thirteen kilometres of ocean at the narrowest point between Punta de Tarifa in Spain and Point Cires in Morocco, this is the closest point between the European Union and Africa, making it an irresistible target for migrants, as well as human and drugs traffickers and other bad actors trying to gain entry to the world’s biggest market.

Migration routes from sub-Saharan Africa transit through Morocco and Algeria to reach Spain. Known as the Western Mediterranean route, irregular migrants try to enter Spain, both via the Mediterranean Sea and by land to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Irregular migrants also try to enter Spain via the Canary Islands. Migrants depart mainly from Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia and embark on dangerous Atlantic journeys, a distance of 100km from the nearest point but anything up to 1600km from The Gambia.

That thirteen-kilometre crossing is also a massive draw for drug traffickers. The easy availability of powerful speed boats and jet skis makes a point-to-point, high-speed crossing to a waiting vehicle, in a remote bay on the Spanish coast an irresistible opportunity. Increasingly capable drone technology adds a whole new dimension to the border challenges. Modern off-the-shelf drones can make the crossing with 20kg or more of drugs and be across the ocean in minutes.

In recent years we have even seen submersibles and semi-submersibles making the perilous crossing from South America to reach Spain.

Spain’s deep experience, expertise, and rich historical connections make its capital, Madrid, an ideal place to re-convene for the next meeting of the World Border Security Congress.

Governments around the world need to continue to invest in their border security, as a wide range of threats, such as combating terrorism, controlling the movement of goods and monitoring personnel across international borders, continue to pose challenges requiring round the clock monitoring.

With new products and technologies continually being developed and introduced to tackle increasing and new security threats, the value of the global border security market is estimated at almost £20bn annually.

Despite the expansion of international agreements in Europe and Asia, reducing the number of secured international borders, threats from international terrorism continues, and cross-border crime and illegal immigration continues to remain a top priority for border security.

The border security market is likely to feel the impact of cuts in public spending, particularly in Europe and the US, however with concerns over homeland security likely to remain high, means that whilst growth may slow, the market will continue to steadily grow.

Investment in border security in the developing countries of Asia and the Middle East will also continue to grow, supporting the increased spend, whilst international sporting events taking place in developing countries will also drive market growth.

The World Border Security Congress is a high level 3 day event that will discuss and debate current and future policies, implementation issues and challenges as well as new and developing technologies that contribute towards safe and secure border and migration management.

Join us in Madrid, Spain on 25th-27th March 2025 for the next gathering of international border security, protection and migration management professionals.