The European Union has opened a job center in Bamako, Mali to help people in Africa find legal work in the EU. The center is an effort by the EU to encourage legal lower-skilled immigration.

Mali lies at the center of key immigration routes. It is also hoped the job center will spur development in the region.

The new job center is not a recruitment office as of now, so no specific job vacancies are on offer. European countries may recruit via the Bamako office in the future, however.

Spain is already offering seasonal contracts in Senegal such as hotel work and fruit picking jobs.

Attending the opening ceremony were Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure, EU development commissioner Louis Michel, and French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux.

Toure said Mali and France would need to find solutions for their common problems.

"Let's be clear, a solution of 100 percent security is not realistic but neither is [a] 100 percent humanitarian solution," Toure said.
"The real trouble is finding work for young people," he added.

Patrick Taran, a migration expert for the International Labour Organization, told the BBC that the EU is becoming more aware over time that it needs migrant workers of all skill levels.

"It makes a lot more sense for people to come through legal channels so that their rights are protected and they can demand and receive fair pay for their work," Taran said.