Diplomatic relations between Rwanda and Benin are in good shape and it shows. On an official visit to Cotonou on April 14 and 15, Rwandan President Paul Kagame met his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon, with whom he discussed at length military support in the face of jihadists overflowing on the northern border of the African country. of the West from Burkina Faso. The two countries have also signed no less than nine cooperation agreements in various sectors, ranging from agriculture, digital, local governance, sustainable development, industry, tourism and even the promotion of investments.
Benin announced last year that it was in talks about military and logistical cooperation with Rwanda, whose troops have already been deployed by President Kagame to fight insurgencies in Mozambique and the Central African Republic. Indeed, authorities in Burkina are failing to contain a jihadist insurgency that is gaining ground just beyond the northern borders of four West African coastal countries, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte of ivory. “We are ready to work with Benin to prevent anything that may happen in the area around its borders,” the Rwandan president said Saturday in Cotonou, during a press conference with Mr. Talon. “There will be no limit” to what “will be accomplished together for the security challenges that arise”, he assured.
“We will go as far as possible if necessary. […] Benin is facing insecurity coming down from the Sahel and the threat is real in northern Benin,” said the Beninese president. For Patrice Talon, this cooperation could include “supervision”, “coaching”, “training” and “joint deployment” of troops, without further details.
The withdrawal of the French army from Mali due to rising tensions with the ruling junta and instability in Burkina Faso have prompted Westerners to refocus their aid on the coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea to prevent the southward spread of jihadist attacks that bloody the Sahel. Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast have already suffered attacks in border regions they have attributed to jihadists, while Ghana has recently increased its military presence along its northern border.
Prior to their press conference, the two leaders had a one-on-one meeting of about ninety minutes to discuss the quality of relations between the two countries and “the search for strategic partnerships” in several areas, including that of security, according to a government press release. They discussed “the terrorist threat and its extension”, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation to deal with it, the same statement said. According to Patrice Talon, who calls himself “enthusiastic”, “the Rwandan army has experience and is seasoned”, having intervened in several countries.
Jihadists from Burkina Faso and Niger have made about 20 incursions into Benin from the north since 2021. A senior Beninese government official said last year that any agreement with Rwanda would not provide for the deployment of Rwandan forces on Beninese soil. Benin’s army chief of staff, General Fructueux Gbaguidi, visited Rwanda last year to deepen relations between the two armies.
The Gulf of Guinea countries have increased their military presence in the border regions with Burkina and Niger. Togo has imposed a state of emergency in its northern provinces and Ghana recently sent 1,000 police and military personnel to its northern border.
