The Israeli-US offensive against Iran on 28 February and the ensuing Middle East crisis forced Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot to shelve a trip to West Africa that had been scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2026. The visit to the sub-region is now expected to take place before the end of the year.

Although Nigeria and the Alliance of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) had initially featured on the itinerary (AI, 27/11/25), Prévot has instead expressed a preference for spending at least a week in Dakar and Cotonou.

In Benin, where President Romuald Wadagni took office on 24 May, the Belgian foreign minister is expected to meet his newly appointed counterpart, Corinne Amori Brunet, the former Beninese ambassador to Belgium based in Paris. Talks could also include Defence Minister Gildas Agonkan.

The diplomatic visit comes as Belgium significantly strengthens its military presence in Benin. Over recent weeks, two detachments of Belgian commandos have been deployed to the country. The first, comprising around 30 personnel, is tasked with training soldiers from the National Guard, a 5,000-strong force established in 2020 to combat terrorism and maritime piracy and led since July 2024 by General Faizou Gomina.

Intelligence support

A second Belgian detachment has been stationed in northern Benin, where it plays a far more operational role. The 30-member unit supports Operation Mirador, commanded by Colonel André Dokoui Fofo and aimed at countering jihadist insurgents operating around the W and Pendjari national parks.

While Belgian forces are not directly involved in combat, they assist the Beninese armed forces (Forces Armées Béninoises) with intelligence gathering and aerial surveillance using drones. Brussels has also established its own logistics facilities at Cotonou airport in recent months.

Belgian special forces are also present in Parakou, where a military command-and-control centre is due to be established. The project, partly financed by the European Union (AI, 08/07/25) has been awarded to French defence consultancy Défense Conseil International.

In northern Benin, however, Belgium is not cooperating with France which has shown little appetite to collaborate and is trying to keep a far more discreet posture.

Officially, Paris deploys only operational training detachments of between 30 and 40 personnel. In recent months, however, French special forces elements have reportedly participated in combat operations alongside Beninese troops (AI, 27/04/26). France also conducts intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions using a Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft operated by CAE Aviation. Based in Cotonou, the aircraft is regularly deployed over the same operational theatre as Belgian drones.

Long-standing partnership

Belgium’s military presence in Benin, now approaching a quarter-century, is set to expand further if Defence Minister Theo Francken‘s plans materialise.

Following a brief stopover in Cotonou in February 2026 while en route to South Africa, Francken could return to Benin’s economic capital in the coming months. The visit could include talks with Colonel Major Marathon Gabin Abel Chahounka, recently appointed head of the presidential military office by Wadagni, replacing General Bertin Bada.

Beyond the armed forces, Belgium has also deepened cooperation with Benin’s intelligence services through partnerships with the DRM military intelligence directorate and the DSLD intelligence services directorate, recently renamed the General Directorate of Services (DGS).

Orphée Hounkanrin, the DGS chief retained by Wadagni, studied at Brussels’ Royal Military Academy, as did Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri.

A former member of Benin’s National Guard, Tigri was the principal architect of the failed 7 December 2025 coup attempt against former president Patrice Talon.

Although this putschist background briefly created tensions between the two capitals, the dispute was swiftly defused after Belgian intelligence services supplied their Beninese counterparts with information that helped thwart the plot. Targeted air strikes by the Nigerian Air Force, rapidly deployed over Beninese airspace, followed shortly afterwards.

Alongside closer military cooperation, Belgium, also acting through its international cooperation agency (ENABEL), is monitoring negotiations over the renewal of the concession for the Port of Cotonou, awarded in 2018 to Belgian operator Port of Antwerp-Bruges International. The contract prompted Belgium to open an embassy in Benin that same year.