Nigeria and the Republic of Benin have reached a landmark agreement to establish a joint trade framework aimed at eliminating cross-border trade barriers, fostering economic development, and enhancing regional integration.
According to a statement from the Nigeria Customs Service on Sunday, the agreement was formalized on Saturday, August 2, 2025, during a high-level meeting held at the Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The session brought together senior government officials, customs leaders, and trade experts from both countries to lay the groundwork for a more efficient and collaborative trade environment.
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mrs. Jumoke Oduwole, hailed the initiative as a strategic move to strengthen West Africa’s regional economy.
She emphasized that the framework builds on recent political commitments by Presidents Bola Tinubu and Patrice Talon, who earlier signed a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the West African Economic Summit.
“Our shared goal is to break down trade barriers, streamline logistics, and use trade as a catalyst for job creation and prosperity,” Oduwole said.
She highlighted the formation of four thematic working groups focused on trade facilitation, enforcement, data sharing, and infrastructure development.
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, affirmed the agency’s commitment to executing the agreement in line with Nigeria’s broader trade objectives.
He revealed that discussions between Nigerian and Beninese customs teams over the past 48 hours led to the development of the new framework, which is expected to culminate in a formal MoU by the first quarter of 2026.
Adeniyi announced plans to implement corridor-based trade solutions to ease transit and transshipment, particularly for small and medium enterprises, while eliminating delays and bureaucratic hurdles.
The CGC also praised his Beninese counterpart, Director-General Adidjatou Hassan Zanouvi, for her support and Benin’s endorsement of Nigeria’s leadership at the recent World Customs Organisation Council meeting in Kinshasa, DRC.
As part of the engagement, both delegations toured the Cotonou Port and the Seme-Krake Joint Border Post to assess border operations and explore modernization opportunities.
The joint trade framework is expected to usher in a new era of transparency, technological collaboration, and mutual economic growth between Nigeria and Benin.
