Benin – Niger: Romuald Wadagni warmly welcomed by Abdourahamane Tiani in Niamey

Beninese President Romuald Wadagni arrived on Tuesday, June 2, at Niamey International Airport for an official visit, personally welcomed by his Nigerien counterpart Abdourahamane Tiani. Nigerien authorities deployed a first-class protocol to mark the event: the main political-administrative officials of Niger gathered at the presidential pavilion early in the morning, and the roads connecting the airport to the city center were adorned with the colors of the Nigerien and Beninese flags side by side. This is the first official meeting between a Beninese head of state and Nigerien authorities since the coup d’état of July 26, 2023.

The nature of the welcome speaks volumes that words have yet to express. The decoration of the avenues and the presence of Tiani himself on the tarmac represent, in the grammar of Sahelian protocol, a signal of utmost consideration. For three years, the Nigerien general had refused any official contact with Cotonou. He accused President Talon of complicity in destabilization attempts, expelled Beninese diplomats, closed the land border in July 2023 – which remains closed to this day – and accused Talon, Macron, and Ouattara of supporting the jihadist attack by the Islamic State against Air Base 101 in January 2026. Welcoming Wadagni as he did on Tuesday marks a spectacular reversal of posture.

Joint working sessions are planned for the day between the two heads of state. No official agenda was made public prior to these talks. According to sources close to the Beninese presidency, four issues are at the heart of the discussions: security cooperation, the reopening of the land border at Malanville, the operation of the Niger-Benin oil export corridor, and complete diplomatic normalization.

Expectations from Both Sides

For Niamey, the central issue is economic. The landlocked Niger, since its departure from ECOWAS in January 2025, no longer has guaranteed access to coastal markets in the sub-region. The Niger-Benin pipeline, which is 1,980 kilometers long, connects the oil fields of Agadem to the terminal at Sèmè-Kpodji, east of Cotonou – the only viable Atlantic outlet in the short term. The agreement signed on May 18 between Niamey and CNPC for the resumption of oil exports can only be effective if relations with Cotonou are sufficiently stabilized to guarantee the passage of the pipeline. According to sources close to the negotiations, Niamey might propose a schedule for the gradual reopening of the border in exchange for Beninese commitments regarding the presence of French special forces in the country.

For Cotonou, the stakes are threefold: to reopen a vital trade corridor for the autonomous port of Cotonou and exporters from northern Benin, to restore cross-border security cooperation in the Alibori and Atacora regions exposed to jihadist infiltrations, and to normalize diplomatic relations that had deteriorated and damaged Benin’s image in the sub-region.

Ouagadougou in the Afternoon

After Niamey, Wadagni is scheduled to travel to Ouagadougou in the afternoon to meet with Captain Ibrahim Traoré. The Tiani-Traoré sequence on the same day – after Nigeria yesterday, with Togo and Côte d’Ivoire to follow in the coming days – confirms that Wadagni’s sub-regional tour is conceived as a whole, rather than a series of isolated gestures. Talking to Tiani and Traoré on the same day, while avoiding one being received before the other in an order that might create a symbolic hierarchy, reflects a deliberate diplomatic calculation.