PORTO-NOVO, Benin
Benin has blocked exports of oil from Niger via its port, President Patrice Talon said on Wednesday, demanding junta-led Niger reopen its border to Beninois goods and normalise relations before crude shipments can restart.
The move jeopardises
landlocked Niger’s plan to start exports from its Agadem oilfield under a
memorandum of understanding signed last month with Chinese
state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) worth $400 million.
Trade flows in the region were
expected to normalise after the West African regional bloc lifted in
February strict sanctions on Niger as it sought to dissuade it and
junta-led neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso from withdrawing from the political
and economic union.
But Niger has kept its borders
closed to goods from Benin and not formally told Benin why it has done so,
Talon said in a statement.
“If you want to load your oil
… in our waters, then you should not see Benin as an enemy,” he said.
“If tomorrow the Nigerien
authorities decide to collaborate formally with Benin, the ships will be
loaded.”
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