Last updated in January 2009
Political relations
The Federal Republic of Germany has maintained diplomatic relations with Benin (formerly Dahomey) since 1960. Bilateral relations have been excellent since the end of the dictatorship in 1990, the focus being on development cooperation.
Federal President Köhler paid a state visit to Benin lasting several days in December 2004. Benin’s President Boni Yayi visited Germany in October 2006. The most recent official visit to Benin was that by Erich Stather, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in mid-January 2009.
Development cooperation
Germany is one of the most important bilateral donors. German-Beninese cooperation focuses on three priority areas:
- decentralization and local development,
- the environment, protection and sustainable use of natural resources in rural areas
- water supply
On top of this, Germany has provided budgetary assistance since 2006 (2007: EUR 2 million in general budgetary assistance and EUR 16 million in sectoral budgetary assistance for basic education). Germany is helping Benin to implement its growth strategy for poverty reduction («Stratégie de croissance pour la réduction de la pauvreté»). Based on agreements reached by the G8 countries at the Heiligendamm Summit, at the intergovernmental negotiations in November 2008 German commitments were increased by more than 25 per cent, to over EUR 50 million. In 2008, Benin received a total of approximately EUR 77 million in bilateral commitments.
At the end of 2008, total funds committed since 1960 amounted to EUR 815 million (EUR 270 for Technical Cooperation and EUR 420 million for Financial Cooperation, as well as EUR 125 million for Technical Cooperation in the broader sense: German Development Service (DED), Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung (CIM), InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany, the churches, the political foundations and other funding organizations. The Technical and Financial Cooperation is complemented by the work of the German Development Service (DED), which has had a large number of development aid workers in Benin for many years. The first “Worldward” volunteers have also been active in Benin since 2008. InWent runs a large number of training programmes.
Thanks to their programmes, the German political foundations working in Benin (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Hanns Seidel Foundation) are held in high regard. In addition, several non-governmental organizations are active in Benin, including German Agro Action, Aktion pro Humanität (AIDS control), the Bavarian Red Cross and Intact (active against female genital mutilation). As part of the assistance provided for military training, Benin is currently offered eight places on relevant courses.
Economic relations
Economic relations, in contrast, have not progressed far. Only a few German companies operate in Benin, e.g. HeidelbergCement, Allianz Insurance and DHL. Vehicles produced by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen are sold in Benin. In addition, the Xanadu shopping centre with its Berlin Restaurant is operated by a German private investor. For decades now, the German construction company DYWIDAG has been building bridges in Benin, including the Konrad Adenauer Bridge, officially opened by Federal President Köhler in 2008 – the third bridge across the lagoon dividing Cotonou into two parts. The most recent construction project, completed in January 2009, is the Willy Brandt Overpass, which has helped eliminate another traffic bottleneck in Cotonou’s city centre.
Foreign trade with Germany is also modest. In the first eleven months of 2008, Germany exported goods worth EUR 51.3 million to Benin, while German imports from Benin were worth a mere EUR 3.3 million. Cotton accounts for some 20% of German imports from Benin, while Germany's main exports to Benin are motor vehicles and vehicle parts.
Cultural relations
Apart from economic cooperation, there are lively contacts in the cultural sphere. A cultural agreement between Germany and Benin was signed in 1987. The Goethe Institute in Lomé (Togo) is also responsible for Benin. Deutsche Welle cooperates with Beninese media (co-productions, training programmes). The German Embassy promotes bilateral cultural relations by arranging scholarships (especially by the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD) and visiting professorships, organizing German-language courses, concerts and film screenings as well as by donating sports equipment. For example, Germany supports the biennial international documentary film festival in Cotonou, Lagunimages. The Honme Museum for History and Ethnography in Porto-Novo has been restored with German assistance and one of the Royal Palaces of Abomey is currently being rebuilt – both projects helping to preserve Benin's cultural heritage.
The German Embassy organized German Culture Weeks for the first time in 2008. A host of events in Cotonou and the priority region of German development cooperation, the Atakora and Donga departments (Northern Benin) – from hip hop to jazz to chansons, films and puppet theatre – gave thousands of Beninians, especially young people, an idea of the diversity of German culture.
Science
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research finances two research programmes that are also engaged in Benin: IMPETUS and BIOTA. IMPETUS is an integrative management project for efficient and sustainable use of freshwater, which is being conducted in Benin and Morocco by Bonn and Cologne Universities, Hamburg’s Max Planck Institute and the German Aerospace Center. The BIOTA research programme is concerned with biodiversity and is mainly engaged in work in the Pendjari National Park, a UNESCO-protected biosphere reservation. German experts also work at the Cotonou branch of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a supraregional research institute based in Ibadan, Nigeria.
