The working and friendship visit to Ouagadougou in early June by Benin’s President, Romuald Wadagni, helped restore trust and solidarity between the two countries in just a few hours. Ouagadougou and Porto-Novo are now expressing a shared commitment to finding coordinated solutions to the challenges they both face.

United Against Terrorism

Strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crime, and violent extremism is now a clear priority. 

Traoré and Wadagni pledged to revive bilateral relations between their two countries. Both heads of state agreed on the urgent need to reinforce cooperation against terrorism and to work together for peace, stability, and sustainable development in West Africa.

There is also urgency on the economic front. Although the border between Burkina Faso and Benin has never been officially closed, it has been somewhat neglected on the Burkinabe side, with greater attention given instead to the Ouagadougou–Lomé and Ouagadougou–Accra routes.

Reviving the Cotonou–Ouagadougou Corridor

According to the final communiqué issued after the meeting, promising opportunities exist in trade, industry, vocational training, infrastructure, and logistics. Both sides committed to revitalising the Cotonou–Ouagadougou corridor by improving the smooth flow of traffic between the two countries.

The Joint Commission for Cooperation is expected to hold its fifth session very soon in order to support this renewed momentum at every level.

This renewed partnership between Burkina Faso and Benin should serve the goals of shared prosperity, regional stability, African integration, and the well-being of both peoples.

Before relations between the two countries cooled, Burkina Faso was, after Niger, Benin’s second-largest export market, absorbing roughly 24 per cent of the value of Beninese goods sold abroad. In recent years, Benin has therefore consistently posted an overall trade surplus in its exchanges with Burkina Faso.

Bound by both geography and history, the two nations are naturally destined for close cooperation — a partnership that should never have lost momentum or faded. The revival of bilateral ties is expected to reinforce Benin’s strong economic performance in recent years, while also supporting Burkina Faso’s solid macroeconomic indicators, which have been regularly commended in recent months by the Bretton Woods institutions.