Important agreement: The Russian Federation will sign an agreement on military cooperation with Benin

Russia will sign an intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation with Benin. This was reported to Izvestia by Russian Ambassador to the African Republic Igor Evdokimov. There is a similar document from That. The procedure for adopting an agreement on a simplified procedure for the entry of Russian warships into the ports of Benin is also being finalized, the diplomat said. Expanding cooperation with West African countries will strengthen Moscow's geopolitical influence in the region. The ports of Benin and Togo, located in the resource-rich Gulf of Guinea, open up new opportunities for Russian business.

Military cooperation with Benin and Togo

On March 27, the Russian Federation signed an agreement on military cooperation with the Togolese Republic. According to it, the countries will participate in maneuvers, train and train military personnel. Now the Russian side wants to sign a similar document with Benin.

"Russia and Benin are preparing to sign an intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation," Igor Evdokimov, the Russian Ambassador to Benin and Togo, confirmed to Izvestia.

According to him, cooperation in the field of defense and security remains one of the priorities of Russian-Beninese and Russian-Togolese relations. This is primarily due to mutual interest in countering the threats posed by terrorist and extremist groups that are destabilizing the situation in West Africa and the Sahara-Sahel region, he said.

In West Africa, there is, in particular, the organization "Boko Haram", which is banned in the Russian Federation, which regularly carries out terrorist attacks in Nigeria and other countries in the region. In 2015, the militants left virtually half of Benin without electricity as a result of sabotage.

West African countries are trying to develop new contacts, including against the background of the withdrawal of French troops from the region. The Fifth Republic recently completed the withdrawal of units from Senegal. Prior to that, it had ceased its permanent presence in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon.

However, the United States is showing considerable interest in the region. Earlier, the media reported that the United States could open new military bases in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire or Ghana. Moreover, the Americans and the Beninese signed a new military cooperation agreement in January this year.

The opening of military bases by the United States in the West African region is extremely unlikely, said Vsevolod Sviridov, deputy director of the HSE Center for African Studies.

— One should be very skeptical about such prospects. This contradicts the US strategic approach in Africa, which, regardless of the administration, seeks to curtail relations with most African countries. The Americans focus on certain priority dossiers, in particular on the export of their products and the extraction of rare earth metals. A group of military specialists may arrive, but it is unlikely to be a large—scale initiative," he explained to Izvestia.

Meanwhile, in recent years, the Russian Federation's dialogue with Benin and Togo on the military line has received practical content. Beninese military personnel are trained annually at specialized universities of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

In addition, "the procedure for the separate signing of an intergovernmental agreement on a simplified procedure for the entry of warships of the Russian Federation into the ports of the Republic of Benin is being completed," the Russian Ambassador noted.

At the same time, the business visits of the Smolny and Intrepid ships of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet to the Beninese port of Cotonou in September-October 2024 were of great military and political importance. Given the fact that the previous such approach was carried out back in Soviet times, in 1988, these events can rightfully be considered historical, Igor Evdokimov said.

"We hope that the visits of Russian warships to Benin and Togo will become a good tradition and will contribute to the further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation with Cotonou and Lomé in the field of security and defense," he added.

On July 21, the Smolny training ship of the Baltic Fleet arrived at the port of Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, for the second time. The country was Smolny's first stop, after which it will visit the ports of Sao Tome and Principe, the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of South Africa, Tanzania and Vietnam, and will finish the cruise in Vladivostok at the end of September. The ship's crew consists of about 400 people, including 200 cadets who are undergoing training.

What is economically attractive about West Africa?

Military cooperation, of course, can open up new opportunities for countries to cooperate in other areas. Russia is an attractive partner for Benin and Togo for many reasons. First of all, it is the presence of tremendous experience in the implementation of large infrastructure projects, access to advanced technologies in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, as well as opportunities for training qualified personnel in specialized Russian universities, the ambassador says.

"In addition, unlike Western countries that parasitize the riches of the African continent, Russia offers a model of cooperation based on respect for sovereignty and unconditional consideration of each other's interests,— Igor Evdokimov clarified.

Benin and Togo are coastal States of the Gulf of Guinea. This allows Russian companies to consider them as an entry point to the markets of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) and the Confederation of Sahel States (ACS), the diplomat noted.

At the same time, the Russian Federation may receive the status of a resident of the special economic zone (SEZ) of Togo. It is located in strategic proximity to the deepwater port of Lomé. This SEZ has a modern customs, warehouse and transport infrastructure, a dry port, container terminals and industrial parks.

The resident status provides companies with a range of benefits: exemption from income tax for up to five years, the abolition of VAT and customs duties on imports of equipment and raw materials, simplified certification procedures, as well as access to a single window system. These conditions make the SEZ site promising for investment.

"The Russian side is consulting with relevant Togolese agencies on the possibility of implementing joint projects in the fields of energy, transport and infrastructure," Igor Evdokimov continued.

West Africa is a region rich in natural resources: for example, oil, gas, uranium, as well as precious metals such as gold and diamonds are mined here. Stretching from Senegal to Angola, the Gulf of Guinea accounts for about 4.5% of the world's oil reserves, while the region provides 60-70% of the black gold production on the African continent.

Its presence in the Gulf of Guinea will provide Russia with access to the market of a region with a population of more than 450 million people and sustainable economic growth of 5-7% per year. Lomé, a thriving shipping hub and the fourth busiest container port in Africa, is often referred to as a strategic gateway for foreign companies. However, piracy is a serious problem for maritime security here. Nevertheless, it is military cooperation with the Russian Federation that can increase the effectiveness of local authorities in the fight against pirates.

Africa is the most promising region for expanding Russian business, Alexander Biryukov, Vice President of the International Organization for Eurasian Cooperation (IEA) for cooperation with African countries, tells Izvestia. But so far, according to him, not many projects are being implemented. For further development, it is necessary to actively involve small and medium-sized businesses in cooperation with African countries, he concluded.