Reconciliation Between Niger and Benin Under Chinese Auspices

Beijing – Sudanhorizon

Chinese efforts have succeeded in restoring relations between Niger and Benin to their normal course after a break that lasted for more than a year, thanks to mediation carried out by the People’s Republic of China on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), where Beijing arranged a meeting between high-level delegations from the two countries who attended to participate in the cooperation forum.

The Niger News Agency (ANP) published a press release on Saturday, September 7, in which it referred to the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Bakary Sangaré on Friday, on the sidelines of the closing of the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit in Beijing, with his Beninese counterpart, Mr. Olu Segou Adjadi, in which they discussed aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

The statement issued by the Nigerien Foreign Ministry added that the two ministers discussed the normalization process under the leadership of their heads of state and bilateral relations. The Nigerien side expressed its security concerns that prevent the reopening of the borders between the two countries, while the Beninese side reassured its Nigerien counterpart and affirmed the readiness of its competent authorities to work to restore cooperation and enhance confidence between the two countries quickly.

The press release also stated that the two parties agreed to continue exchanges and coordination between the competent authorities in the two countries, especially during the upcoming meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which will begin in the last third of this month.

The follow-up of the Sudanhorizon news website indicates that the tension on the border between the two neighbors erupted following the overthrow of the previous government in Niger in July 2023, which sometimes led to the disruption of the export of Nigerian crude oil managed by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). In an effort to push for the normalization of relations between the two neighboring countries, the Chinese mediator committed to paying an advance payment of $400 million that Niger will have to pay from crude oil sales, over one year, at an interest rate of 7%.