Benin and China signed, Saturday, January 14, a memorandum of understanding on the partial cancellation of the Beninese state’s debt to Beijing, on the sidelines of the visit of the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, in Benin , the local press reported on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed by the head of Beninese diplomacy, Aurélien Agbénonci, and his Chinese counterpart, after a working session. But no details were given on the amount of debt to be forgiven.
The two personalities welcomed the cooperation between their two countries. Qin Gang suggested further identifying “fields of action.” « My proposal is that we work together to promote synergy between Benin’s strategic development plan and the Belt and Road Initiative and the achievements of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to identify more areas of action and rate of growth for our cooperation ».
“I am thinking, for example, of infrastructure, agriculture, human resource training, manufacturing, peace and security,” he continued.
It should be noted that Western countries and international NGOs often accuse China of making African countries fall into the trap of unsustainable debt; what Beijing has always refuted. To show their goodwill, the authorities of the Middle Kingdom have had to take a few steps in favor of African debt relief. In August 2022, Beijing announced the cancellation of 23 interest-free loans granted to 17 African countries.
Qin Gang undertook a diplomatic tour of Africa from January 9 to 16, which took him to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, Egypt, as well as to the headquarters of the African Union and the League of Arab States.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1012 of 18/01/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
