Luxembourg Embassy Inaugurated, Cooperation Agreements Signed in Benin

On Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 March 2024, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Xavier Bettel, undertook a working visit to Benin.

As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, the visit was aimed in particular at monitoring the cooperation partnership within the framework of the general cooperation agreement signed in Luxembourg in December 2022.

The constituent bilateral committee between Luxembourg and Benin, co-chaired by Xavier Bettel and Romuald Wadagni, Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of cooperation in Benin, was held in Cotonou. According to the Luxembourg ministry, this meeting provided an update on current cooperation projects and saw participants discuss the future strategic direction of the partnership. Having brought together all the Beninese sectoral ministers involved in the implementation of current and planned programmes, the meeting was also an opportunity for Minister Bettel to have an in-depth exchange with his counterparts on Benin's cooperation priorities.

At the end of the bilateral committee, Ministers Bettel and Wadagni signed two new agreements, including a multi-annual roadmap relating to development cooperation in order to provide a conceptual framework for ongoing and planned commitments. The cooperation programmes with Benin, the majority of which have already been signed and which include both bilateral and multilateral projects, cover the period from 2022 to 2026 and will have a total indicative financial envelope of €62 million. The second agreement concluded concerns the new "BeDIGITAL" programme, which, with €8.5 million, forms part of this total financial envelope. This programme aims in particular to strengthen the cybersecurity skills of Beninese authorities, to increase the use of digital tools among the population and to promote female entrepreneurship in the digital sector.

When signing the two agreements, Minister Bettel highlighted the "excellent" relations between Luxembourg and Benin, stating: "I am very happy that we were able to hold today the very first bilateral commission between our two countries and consolidate further, through the roadmap and the BeDIGITAL programme, the collaboration that Benin and Luxembourg Cooperation have maintained since 2022. The fact that many of our programmes are already underway testifies to the excellent cooperation of recent years."

Also in Cotonou, Minister Bettel had an exchange of views with Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, Benin's Minister of Foreign Affairs, during which the ministers notably discussed bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Benin as well as international political news.

During an official ceremony held in the presence of Minister Adjadi Bakari, Minister Bettel also inaugurated the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Cotonou, a sign of the strengthening of relations between Luxembourg and Benin, noted the ministry.

The agenda also included visits to "achievements" supported by Luxembourg. Minister Bettel thus visited the construction site of the future school of tourism, hotel and catering trades, a flagship project of development cooperation with Benin, where he unveiled the official plaque of the school.

With vocational training and tourism being among the priority intervention sectors, Minister Bettel then visited the Centre Novignon. Set up by the NGO ECO-BENIN, this centre is one of the partners of Luxembourg Cooperation in the promotion of ecotourism, which aims for sustainable tourism development, in particular through the creation of green jobs and the protection of endangered animal species, including the olive ridley sea turtle.

Moreover, Minister Bettel visited the activities of the Luxembourg NGO SOS Villages d'Enfants Monde which, supported by Luxembourg Cooperation, works for better access for children to basic social services and for the promotion of child protection in Benin.