Diplomacy: after Abuja, Romuald Wadagni is expected in Ouagadougou and Niamey this Tuesday.

On Tuesday, June 2, Beninese President Romuald Wadagni is set to make successive working visits to Ouagadougou and Niamey, according to reports from La Nation and several regional sources, following a friendly and working visit to Abuja with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This tour of three capitals in two days – Abuja on June 1, Ouagadougou and Niamey on June 2 – marks the inaugural diplomatic sequence of the new Beninese head of state, inaugurated on May 24.

The two Sahelian visits on June 2 hold special significance. Neither Burkina Faso nor Niger sent their heads of state to Cotonou for the inauguration on May 24 – Burkina Faso was represented by its Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, and Niger by its Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. Wadagni’s decision to personally visit both Sahelian capitals less than two weeks after his inauguration signals a clear priority on restoring dialogue, which the AES countries declined to honor during the celebrations of Benin’s 65th independence anniversary in July 2025.

In Ouagadougou, Wadagni will meet with Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who has been in power since September 2022. Relations between Benin and Burkina Faso have been strained by repeated accusations from Ouagadougou that Beninese territory is being used as a base for armed groups infiltrating into northern Burkina. Cross-border security cooperation in the Atakora and Alibori regions – areas of infiltration for jihadist groups from Burkina – is expected to be the first operational issue on the agenda during discussions.

The relationship with Niamey, the most charged

In Niamey, Wadagni will meet with General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP), who has been in power since the coup d’état on July 26, 2023. This bilateral file is the most loaded of all those inherited from his predecessor, Patrice Talon.

The Nigerien border with Benin has been closed since August 2023. The dispute escalated in June 2024 with the arrest of five Nigerien nationals on the Niger-Benin pipeline platform at Sèmè-Kpodji, three of whom were sentenced by the CRIET. Niamey declared the first counselor of the Beninese embassy persona non grata in January 2026. General Tiani had accused former President Talon, Emmanuel Macron, and Alassane Ouattara of supporting the Islamic State’s jihadist attack on Niamey airport in March 2026 – accusations denied by Beninese authorities. France acknowledged the presence of special forces in Benin within a counter-terrorism framework, which Niamey presents as a direct threat.

Despite this context, three factors create a window for dialogue. The change in leadership in Cotonou – with Wadagni not being associated with the most contentious phases of the crisis with the AES – provides both parties with an opportunity to start fresh without the lingering personal grievances accumulated during Talon’s tenure. The agreement signed on May 18 between Niamey and the CNPC for the resumption of oil exports via the pipeline – of which Cotonou is the only Atlantic outlet in the short term – creates a converging economic interest. Wadagni himself stated during his campaign: “We will seize the opportunity of the renewal at the head of the state to move towards our neighbors again.”

An agenda that goes beyond symbolism

The day of June 2 will be followed by a planned visit to Togo and Guinea on June 3, according to Beninese sources, making this tour a journey of five capitals in three days. For each of these visits, the format chosen is that of a working visit – without a joint communiqué announced in advance – leaving open the question of the level of concrete commitments that may result.

The most anticipated outcome by Beninese and Nigerien economic operators is the reopening of the land border. Its closure deprives Benin of a major outlet for its port of Cotonou and denies Niger an essential corridor for its imports. The decision to reopen or not can only come from Niamey – and it will be contingent, according to analyses from the Institute for Security Studies, on Beninese commitments regarding the issue of French forces stationed in Benin and on the handling of pending judicial disputes.