Nigeria, Benin agree on joint trade framework

Nigeria and Benin have agreed on a joint trade framework aimed at removing cross-border trade barriers and deepening regional economic integration, officials said on Saturday.

The agreement was reached during a high-level meeting at the Beninese Ministry of Economy and Finance in Cotonou, attended by senior government officials, customs chiefs, and trade experts from both countries.

Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the framework followed the recent signing of a preliminary memorandum of understanding between Presidents Bola Tinubu and Patrice Talon at the West African Economic Summit.

“This agreement signals strong political will from both countries to pursue a progressive and inclusive trade relationship,” she said, adding that the plan would improve logistics and create jobs through enhanced cooperation in trade facilitation, enforcement, data sharing, and infrastructure.

Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the framework was the result of two days of technical meetings between the customs services of both countries.

“What we have witnessed today is the culmination of intensive technical meetings between Nigeria and Benin Customs officials over the past 48 hours. We’ve developed a joint framework that reflects our Presidents’ shared vision for economic growth,” he said.

Adeniyi announced that a formal memorandum of understanding would be signed by the first quarter of 2026, and that new trade corridors had been identified to ease the movement of goods, particularly for small and medium enterprises.

He also confirmed that connectivity between the customs systems of both countries had been activated, and that corridor-based solutions would be introduced to speed up transit and transshipment trade.

The Nigerian delegation also toured Cotonou Port to assess port operations and identify areas for modernisation, and visited the Seme-Krake Joint Border Post as part of efforts to strengthen coordinated border management.

Benin’s customs chief, Adidjatou Hassan Zanouvi, expressed support for the initiative and reiterated her country’s backing for Nigeria’s leadership at the World Customs Organisation Council meeting in Kinshasa earlier this year.