James Tasamba
16 April 2023•Update: 16 April 2023
KIGALI, Rwanda
Rwanda and Benin signed an agreement Saturday to facilitate military support to help Proto-Novo secure its borders, officials announced.
The agreement was signed on the first day of Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s two-day visit to the country.
Benin, like Togo and Ivory Coast, has suffered terror attacks since 2018 that have spilled over from Africa's Sahel region attributed to al-Qaeda and Daesh/ISIS affiliate, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
Benin’s northern borders with Burkina Faso and Niger have particularly been affected.
“We are ready to work with Benin to prevent anything that may happen around its borders,” Kagame said at a news conference with his counterpart, President Patrice Talon, in Cotonou.
Kagame said Rwanda has built its capacity and there will be no limit to what “will be accomplished together for security challenges.”
“What we need to do in Africa is to be together, to identify what we need in terms of partnerships and who offers what we need,” he said.
The news conference was preceded by a one-on-one meeting between Talon and Kagame in which the two discussed “the terrorist threat and its spread” as well as several areas of cooperation including, security, according to Benin’s Foreign Ministry.
Noting that the deal is based on the Rwandan army’s experience, Talon said cooperation could include “supervision, coaching, training, joint deployment.”
Rwandan troops are deployed in Mozambique, South Sudan and the Central African Republic to help restore peace.
