The seventh session of the Benin-Morocco Joint Cooperation Commission convened in Cotonou on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Discussions centered on deepening bilateral ties and exploring new avenues for collaboration across key sectors.

Co-chaired by Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Afro-descendant Integration, Corinne Amori Brunet, and Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, the session highlighted the strengthening of democratic maturity and economic performance in Benin. Bourita praised Benin’s progress, emphasizing the need to align bilateral cooperation with national priorities to maximize impact. He stressed the importance of engaging the private sector to boost economic exchanges, attract investments, and support sustainable development, aiming to position the Benin-Morocco partnership as a model for inter-African solidarity.

Addressing security concerns, Bourita reiterated Morocco’s full solidarity with Benin and underscored the urgency of promoting tolerance in Islam. Benin’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Hugues Oscar Lokossou, called for elevating cooperation to strategic levels in priority areas. He noted that trade exchanges fall short of expectations and called for leveraging Moroccan and Beninese expertise in sectors such as agriculture, digital innovation, and renewable energy. Lokossou also advocated for a shared prosperity framework by pooling resources and efforts.

Corinne Amori Brunet echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need to expand cooperation in sectors like economy, trade, industry, investment, tourism, agriculture, justice, security, vocational training, higher education, scientific research, health, digital technology, and culture.

Fourteen cooperation agreements signed

At the conclusion of the session, Benin and Morocco formally signed 14 cooperation agreements, covering areas such as:

• Mutual administrative assistance in customs matters
• Higher education, scientific research, and innovation cooperation framework
• Judicial mutual assistance in criminal matters
• Extradition convention
• Transfer of convicted persons convention
• Justice sector action plan
• Security cooperation agreement
• Civil protection financial execution modalities protocol
• Food safety cooperation protocol
• Vocational training cooperation framework convention
• Academic scholarships, internships, and expertise-sharing framework agreement
• Sports and sports training memorandum of understanding
• Tourism promotion and development partnership convention
• Environment and sustainable development memorandum of understanding