Meeting in Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the Republic of Benin, Romuald Wadagni, agreed on Wednesday 24 June to deepen the EU-Benin partnership and speed up cooperation under the Global Gateway strategy.
The Commission announced three priority areas of work: - Benin’s economic transformation and industrialisation, notably around the port of Cotonou and agricultural value chains; - territorial development and stronger security in the north of the country; - mobilisation of financing for sustainable infrastructure through the ‘Global Green Bond Initiative Fund’, supported by the European Union (see EUROPE 13856/9).
This latter initiative is intended to facilitate financing for ‘green’ projects, notably in renewable energy, transport and sustainable agriculture, by mobilising more private capital through the issuance of environmentally friendly bonds.
According to the Commission, Benin is among the countries best placed to benefit from this financial instrument. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)