Benin: Sidi Ould Tah received by Wadagni after his election as the head of the AfDB

The Beninese President Romuald Wadagni met on the morning of Wednesday, June 10, at the Marina Palace in Cotonou, with the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mauritanian Sidi Ould Tah. According to the Beninese presidency, the sole source of the meeting, the discussions focused on the macroeconomic situation of Benin, the country’s development prospects, and the reform program that the head of state intends to implement.

The meeting comes at the end of an intense diplomatic sequence initiated by Mr. Wadagni since his inauguration on May 24, 2026. The new president, former Minister of State for Economy and Finance from 2016 to 2026, first undertook two regional tours before receiving several foreign interlocutors and institutional partners in Cotonou.

The relationship between Cotonou and the head of the AfDB predates this meeting. In May 2025, Benin, then led by Patrice Talon, officially supported Mr. Ould Tah’s candidacy for the presidency of the institution, with a delegation led by State Ministers Abdoulaye Bio Tchané and Romuald Wadagni being dispatched to Nouakchott. Following the election, Mr. Wadagni congratulated the Mauritanian candidate, expressing pride in a “just bet, alongside Mauritania.”

A Key Partner

Elected on May 29, 2025, with 76.18% of the votes, Sidi Ould Tah succeeded Nigerian Akinwumi Adesina and became the first Mauritanian to lead the African Development Bank. He took office on September 1, 2025, for a five-year term at the helm of the continent’s main multilateral financial institution, of which Benin is a member.

The AfDB leader chaired his first annual meetings in Brazzaville from May 25 to 29, 2026, after which he initiated a reorganization of the institution. The Cotonou meeting is one of his first bilateral trips since that date.