Benin

Political relations

Cooperation between France and Benin is governed by the General Agreement of 1975 and specific agreements signed the same year. These agreements have a vast scope, ranging from cultural cooperation to military cooperation. To replace the France-Benin General Partnership Framework 2018-2021, the French Embassy in Cotonou drew up, in close collaboration with civil society and the Beninese authorities, a “country strategy”, as provided for by the Programming Act on inclusive development and combating global inequalities. This strategy is based on the priorities of PAG II (government action programme) and targets three main objectives: (i) support the strengthening of democracy, the rule of law and good governance; (ii) assist human development and structural transformation of certain key economic sectors; (iii) help sustainably improve the social well-being of populations.

The European Union allotted €372 million to Benin under the eleventh European Development Fund (2014-2020). These funds are dedicated to governance (€184 million), agricultural development (€80 million), access to energy (€80 million), and civil society support (€18 million). On 17 September 2018, the fifth session of political dialogue took place under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and Benin, the outcome of which was highlighted as positive. The amounts allocated to Benin under the new EU Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) are not yet known.

The relationship between the EU and Benin has however deteriorated since the legislative elections in 2019: the head of the European Union delegation to Cotonou was asked to leave the country. A few months later, the EU withdrew its accreditation of the Beninese Ambassador to the EU. Relations between the EU and Benin have since improved, and a new Head of Delegation, Ms Sylvia Hartleif, has been posted to Cotonou.

Economic relations

Trade between France and Benin is characterized by very limited French imports (€2.4 million in 2018 and €2.1 million in 2019), made up essentially of a few agricultural and agrifood products, such as tropical fruit and fruit juice. French exports to Benin totalled €162.8 million in 2019, down 26.9% on the previous year (€222.7 million). The strong results in 2018 were due to the exceptional delivery of electric turbines for the Maria Gléta II power plant, worth €32 million. The 2019 results were also affected by the continued drop in sales of frozen poultry for re-export to Nigeria (€14.7 million compared to €21.6 million the previous year), and an even greater drop was expected in 2020. Our traditional exports of medicines, our main export to Benin, levelled off at €34.8 million.

Some 40 French businesses are present in the country. They are concentrated in the agrifood, logistics, construction and banking sectors and directly employ some 8,000 people.