Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on an official visit to Cotonou, joined his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon on Tuesday to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and injecting new impetus into the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in light of pressing subregional challenges.
During his visit, President Faye was received by President Talon, with both leaders expressing a shared desire to deepen relations between their nations and revitalize key subregional organizations. This meeting takes place amidst notable tensions within both UEMOA and ECOWAS.
In a joint press briefing, President Patrice Talon lauded the visit as an embodiment of “fraternity and friendship,” noting its timely occurrence “just days before Benin’s Independence Day.” He highlighted that the meeting, which had been postponed several times, allowed for comprehensive discussions on both bilateral and multilateral issues.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in turn, extended his gratitude to President Talon for the “warm welcome” extended to his delegation and commended the quality of the discussions, which provided a “broad overview” of the relations between the two countries and the challenges confronting the subregion.
On the bilateral front, both presidents concurred that “much remains to be done” to intensify economic exchanges between Senegal and Benin. They also addressed the critical security situation in the subregion, with President Faye conveying “Senegal’s solidarity” with the Beninese people “in the face of the painful events” linked to recent terrorist attacks.
Turning to regional issues, the two leaders jointly called for the revitalization of UEMOA and the reform of ECOWAS to better equip them to address current challenges. “We agreed to take steps to revitalize the UEMOA, with the support of other heads of state,” the Senegalese president affirmed.
This visit occurs just days after tensions surfaced within the UEMOA Council of Ministers, following Burkina Faso’s unsuccessful request to assume the body’s presidency in accordance with its statutes, which led to the withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) countries from the meeting. It also follows an ECOWAS summit that established a ministerial troika tasked with supporting the Commission President in discussions with the AES on post-exit cooperation.
AC/Sf/fss/abj/APA