Reopening of the Benin-Niger border: The expert committees submit their respective reports to Presidents Wadagni and Tiani

Reopening of the Benin-Niger border: The expert committees submit their respective reports to Presidents Wadagni and Tiani

Following Benin's President Romuald Wadagni's visit to Niger on June 2nd, Niamey and Porto-Novo established expert committees tasked with examining the conditions for reopening the Benin-Niger border. After 15 days of work, these committees submitted their respective reports to Presidents Wadagni and Tiani. This information was released in a joint statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, June 16th.

"Both parties welcome the successful results of this first round of work."

In this information note, "both parties welcome the fruitful results of this first round of work on all the subjects examined," and announces that "building on these achievements, the experts from both countries will meet jointly by the end of the week to consolidate their conclusions and submit a joint report to the two Heads of State."

"This step will mark the happy culmination of a process conducted with seriousness, speed and a keen sense of shared interest," the two parties noted.

The governments of Benin and Niger ultimately reaffirmed "with conviction the personal commitment of President Wadagni and President Tiani to a strengthened partnership between the two countries".  

It is worth recalling that Benin and Niger had been at odds since the coup d'état of July 26, 2023. It was only with the rise to power of Romuald Wadagni on April 24 that relations between the two neighbouring states began to warm.