Benin and Niger have moved a step closer to ending a protracted border closure, formally committing to reopen their shared frontier and restore full cooperation after months of diplomatic tension.

In a joint communique issued after high-level talks in Niamey, the two governments endorsed a nine-point roadmap that sets out political, security and economic measures aimed at normalising relations. Central to the plan is the creation of a bilateral committee tasked with defining the technical and security conditions for reopening the border, which has been shut since the military takeover in Niger in 2023.

The closure, initially triggered by sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States, has disrupted trade routes linking Niger’s landlocked economy to Benin’s port of Cotonou. Even after regional sanctions were lifted, Niamey kept the border sealed, accusing Benin of allowing foreign military facilities on its soil that Niger’s authorities claimed were hostile to the junta.

Benin’s new president, Romuald Wadagni, used an early visit to Niamey to reset the relationship. In talks with Niger’s head of state, Abdurahmane Tiani, both sides agreed that the economic and social costs of the standoff had become untenable for border communities and national economies alike.

The communique underscores a shared determination to “boost bilateral cooperation” in trade, transport and energy, while also pledging closer coordination on security. The two countries vowed to work together against terrorism, banditry and cross-border crime, signalling that intelligence sharing and joint operations could be strengthened along their frontier.

For Wadagni, the rapprochement with Niger is part of a broader diplomatic push to mend ties with neighbours following his inauguration. He has framed regional cooperation as essential to Benin’s stability and growth, pairing his outreach to Niamey with a visit to Burkina Faso and calls for pragmatic engagement across political divides in the Sahel.

While no precise date has been announced for the reopening, officials on both sides describe the new committee and the agreed roadmap as a concrete framework rather than a symbolic gesture. The outcome will be closely watched by traders, transporters and residents who depend on the corridor between Cotonou and Niger, and who see the promised reopening as a test of the two governments’ ability to balance security concerns with economic necessity.