Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba met with Benin’s expert committee in Cotonou on Saturday, June 20, to discuss border reopening terms.

He outlined two non-negotiable requirements: “the establishment of a defense agreement” and “a security pact that permanently prohibits the use of one nation’s territory against the other.”

General Toumba also demanded “complete transparency regarding foreign military deployments near the Niger-Benin border, which follows the Niger River,” as reported during a broadcast on Télé Sahel.

Over recent years, Niamey has repeatedly accused Cotonou of hosting French military bases along the shared border—a claim consistently denied by both Benin and Paris.

The border has been closed for nearly three years, following the July 2023 military takeover in Niamey, which accused Benin of collaborating with France to destabilize Niger.

Thawing diplomatic tensions

However, the early June visit by Benin’s newly elected President Romuald Wadagni to Niger marked a significant thaw in previously strained relations. Both countries face ongoing jihadist threats from factions linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

The Nigerien Interior Minister, a key figure in the ruling junta, also called for the “operational creation of a bilateral intelligence fusion cell” to enable Benin and Niger to coordinate efforts against cross-border extremist groups.