Benin: minutes of the Council of Ministers meeting of Wednesday, December 17, 2025
The Council of Ministers met on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, under the chairmanship of Mr. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic, Head of State, Head of Government. The following decisions were taken :
- I- Normative measures.
- Creation of the Beninese Agency for Distance Learning and approval of its statutes.
- II- Communications.
- II-1. Recruitment and training of 1,850 young people for the benefit of the Beninese Armed Forces.
- II-2. Contracting for the execution of construction works for the Cotonou Cultural and Creative Quarter (QCC).
- II-3. Declaration by the Constitutional Court of the conformity with the Constitution of the law revising the Constitution.
- III- Individual measures.
The Council of Ministers met on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, under the chairmanship of Mr. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic, Head of State, Head of Government. The following decisions were taken :
I- Normative measures.
Creation of the Beninese Agency for Distance Learning and approval of its statutes.
Because of the many practical applications it enables, digital technology today offers a key asset for improving training and academic excellence.
To put it fully at the service of our education system, it is urgent to modernize teaching methods, enrich educational content, strengthen support for learners and ensure greater equity of access to quality education.
To this end, distance learning will be deployed across the three levels of the education system: early childhood and primary education, secondary and technical education including vocational training, and higher education.
It will rely on strategic partnerships with national and international institutions in order to pool best pedagogical practices and ensure a progressive, solid and sustainable implementation focused on quality.
To ensure proper coordination of the system across the three orders of education, it was deemed appropriate to create an agency. Its role will be to promote access to high-quality education through distance learning, by strengthening existing digital infrastructures and/or creating new ones, taking into account support for teachers and learners.
The Agency will carry out the operational implementation of distance learning in higher education starting in the 2026-2027 academic year.
This first phase will be a decisive milestone in the digital transformation of the Beninese education system, as it will allow testing, adjusting and consolidating the arrangements before their progressive extension to other sub-sectors.
The Council therefore authorized its creation, approved its statutes and instructed the ministers involved in its establishment to take the necessary measures to that end.
Under other normative measures, the following decrees were adopted :
- amending Decree 2024-1295 of November 6, 2024 on the conditions for importing, exporting and distributing wholesale or retail health products other than medicines; and
- establishing the institutional framework for the implementation of the Dogo-bis Project.
II- Communications.
II-1. Recruitment and training of 1,850 young people for the benefit of the Beninese Armed Forces.
These new recruits, 850 for the year 2025 and 1,000 for the year 2026, will reinforce our army’s ranks and increase its operational capabilities. Among them, and for each year, 100 will be selected on the basis of qualifications as follows: 40 automotive mechanics, 40 drivers of light and heavy vehicles, 10 automotive electricians and 10 maintenance technicians for generator sets and solar installations.
The ministers concerned will take the necessary measures to ensure the proper conduct of both the recruitment tests and the training.
II-2. Contracting for the execution of construction works for the Cotonou Cultural and Creative Quarter (QCC).
As a reminder, this development project covers an area of more than 12 hectares and aims to position itself as the epicenter of Benin’s cultural and creative industries. It will be the prime venue for events dedicated to innovation, creation, dissemination, cultural consumption and the marketing of cultural and artistic goods, bringing together several interconnected facilities and activities.
The objective is to make the city of Cotonou a major cultural platform in West Africa, a sub-regional hub for the arts and cultural industries connected to major international artistic centers to create enriching cultural synergies.
In anticipation of the start of the works proper, the Council approved contracting with an experienced group, with the ministers concerned responsible for ensuring the project’s proper execution.
II-3. Declaration by the Constitutional Court of the conformity with the Constitution of the law revising the Constitution.
The Head of State informed the Council that the Constitutional Court examined the various appeals filed following the vote of the law of November 14, 2025 revising and complementing the Constitution of December 11, 1990. At the end of that examination, it declared the said law to be in conformity with the Constitution in all its provisions.
Thereupon, the President of the Republic announced to the Council that he will promulgate the said law today, Wednesday, December 17, 2025, a substantive formality to give it executive force.
III- Individual measures.
The following appointments were made at the Ministry of Health :
- Director General of the National University Hospital Center for Psychiatry of Cotonou: Mrs. Tchédié E. Elvyre KLIKPO
- Director General of the National University Hospital Center for Pneumo-Phthisiology of Cotonou: Mr. Dègla Deluxe Gildas AGODOKPESSI.
Issued in Cotonou, December 17, 2025,
The Secretary General of the Government,
Edouard OUIN-OURO.
