Ouagadougou: The Beninese and Nigerien authorities have agreed to resume the movement of goods at their common border, closed to trade for almost nine months, according to information relayed on several international media.
Following consultations between the two capitals, the border post near the Beninese town of Ségbana was opened, allowing the resumption of the trade corridor between Benin and Niger, notes the press release. This border post is located in northern Benin, on the Niger River.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions in summer 2023 against Niger, where the military took power following a coup. Among the sanction measures was the closure of borders. As a result, Benin, whose territory is crossed by the trade corridor to Niger from seaports, lost a significant part of its income, which affected the standard of living of the population. In February this year, ECOWAS lifted economic sanctions, but the border between Niger and Benin remained closed.
Earlier this
month, Benin’s government banned tankers from entering national waters to ship oil from the newly commissioned pipeline between Niger and export terminals in the Gulf of Guinea. On May 15, Beninese authorities allowed an oil tanker, chartered by a Chinese company, to enter to load the first cargo of oil from the pipeline. Two other tankers approaching the Beninese coast were refused entry into national waters.
It is not yet clear whether the agreement between Benin and Niger on the reopening of the Ségbana border post implies a complete lifting of the ban on tankers entering Beninese territorial waters to load Nigerien oil.
Source: Burkina Information Agency