15 days to remove obstacles between Cotonou and Niamey: what to remember from Wadagni’s visit to Niger

Beninese President Romuald Wadagni and Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani adopted a joint communiqué on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, following a one-on-one meeting followed by a working session with both delegations. The most concrete outcome of the meeting is the establishment of a committee of experts tasked with “identifying and removing obstacles to strengthening cooperation between the two countries, particularly the reopening of the Benin-Niger border.” This committee has a deadline of fifteen days to submit its report to both heads of state.

This is the first official visit by a Beninese president to Niamey since the coup d’état on July 26, 2023. The land border between the two countries has been closed since August 2023. The official communiqué indicates that the two presidents “have expressed their commitment to work towards removing all obstacles to strengthening cooperation,” and reaffirmed their common desire to “enhance bilateral cooperation to meet their ambitions and the legitimate expectations of their peoples.” The text also mentions that Tiani accepted Wadagni’s invitation to make an official visit to Benin, “with the date to be set through diplomatic channels.”

The discussions covered terrorism, cross-border security, political, economic, scientific, and cultural cooperation, and the revitalization of the Niger-Benin joint cooperation commission. On the security front, the two presidents “reaffirmed their commitment to unite their forces to combat the scourge of terrorism and banditry that has plagued the sub-region for several years.”

What the communiqué says and does not say

The committee of experts with a 15-day deadline is the central element. Its creation formalizes a negotiation process regarding the border – it does not represent a decision to reopen it. The actual reopening remains conditioned on the committee’s conclusions and the decisions the two heads of state will make upon reviewing them. The 15-day timeframe is short for a file burdened with three years of disputes – it imposes a pace that can either accelerate a decision or crystallize a disagreement.

The communiqué does not explicitly mention the Niger-Benin pipeline, the French special forces stationed in Benin, nor the legal disputes involving Nigerien nationals convicted by the CRIET. These omissions do not mean that these issues were not discussed in the session – they mean that they did not lead to a public commitment. The phrase “remove all obstacles” is broad enough to encompass them without naming them.

Wadagni was welcomed at Niamey airport by Tiani himself, in a protocol that present observers described as solemn, with avenues decorated in the colors of both flags. The meeting took place in a “climate of great cordiality,” according to the joint communiqué. Tiani thanked Wadagni for his visit; Wadagni thanked Tiani for the welcome extended to him and his delegation.

The communiqué was adopted on the same day as the visit. It is titled joint communiqué and signed on behalf of the two heads of state. It constitutes the first official joint document between the two countries since the break in 2023.